by Lisa Emme
Kitchen taken care of, he went out to the barn to feed Bella and make sure she and the pups had water. He quickly measured out all the feed for the horses and got their stalls ready. They were nowhere in sight; they must have been out at the back end of the pasture, but at least things would be ready for later.
Chores done, Mike started back towards the house, just as Brian’s truck pulled up the drive. Brian climbed out, took one look at Mike’s grim face and frowned.
“You had better tell me what’s going on, Mike.”
“Come in the house, it will be easier to just show you.” Without waiting for him, Mike went inside.
***
Brian looked at the message on Mike’s phone and shook his head in disbelief. “No way. Is this for real?”
“Looks real enough to me,” Mike growled in reply. He turned away so he wouldn’t have to look at Allie’s terrified face.
Brian scrolled down past the picture and read the text below. It said ‘$$500,000 & they come home again.’ In larger font, it said ‘NO COPS!!’
“That’s it?” Brian looked up at Mike in question. “There wasn’t any other message? Like what to do with the money or a deadline or anything?”
“I guess they didn’t get to that chapter in the ‘How to’ guide.” Mike scowled. “I assumed another message would follow, but so far there hasn’t been anything.” He clenched a fist at his side and ran the other hand through his hair. “What the hell do we do?” He started pacing. “I mean, have I already screwed up because I told you? They said no cops.”
Brian put up a hand in a calming gesture. “Whoa, okay? Hang on. You did the right thing. Just let me think for a minute.” He scrolled back up to the picture of Allie and Dougie and started to zoom in on it. He studied it for a minute, frowning. “Not much to go on. It’s obviously some sort of van…wait a minute. What is that?” He zoomed to a corner of the picture. In the background behind Dougie was a red baseball cap. He could just make out the logo. It was a black, stylized cow brand; a circle and a large letter D.
***
“You did what?” Evan paced the floor in Rowdy’s office. “You selfish…”
“Alright, alright, I know. I screwed up.” Rowdy sat in his chair, elbows on the desk, his head resting in his hands.
“You think?” Evan stopped pacing to look at him incredulously. “They almost burned down the damn house and now….” He waved his hand at the computer sitting on Rowdy’s desk. “Now…” He shook his head at a loss for words. He took a step towards Rowdy, a look of menace on his face. “So help me, if they get hurt, I’ll - ”
“You think I don’t know that? I never wanted anything to happen to them. This isn’t my doing…” Rowdy sat up in his chair and cast a pleading look at his brother.
“Yes it is!” Evan pounded his hands on the desk. “If you hadn’t started with your juvenile pranks…”
“It wasn’t my idea. Seth thought…”
“Seth! Who the hell is Seth? Some stranger you let come here and start tormenting your own cousin, your own flesh and blood. For what? So you could weasel the Roberts out of a chunk of land. You greedy bastard. It’s always about you. You never think of anyone but yourself.”
“I’m sorry.”
Evan put up a hand to stop Rowdy. “Just save it. I don’t want to hear it.” He shook his head and lowered himself into the chair across from Rowdy’s desk. “We have to tell Grandad and call the cops.”
“We can’t. They said not to involve the police.” Rowdy gestured to the message on the computer screen.
“Well, we have to do something. We have to get them back.” He looked at Rowdy pointedly. “And you have to tell Grandad.”
***
Allie staggered to her feet. She put her hand out to steady herself against the dirt wall of the pit and looked around. The floor where she was standing was sandy and littered with bits of debris. The pit itself was only about five feet across. The angle of the summer sun allowed for a little light to filter down to the bottom, but the far side was already in shadow. It would be dark down here soon, especially with the gathering clouds up above. Allie shivered. It wasn’t really cold, but it would be soon.
“Hey!” She shouted up, a hand cupped around her mouth. “Hey! You can’t just leave us down here, not without blankets and food.”
Gravel and dust flew down from above. Allie grabbed Dougie and sheltered him from the barrage. “You can fucking rot down there for all I care,” came the reply. There was a series of muttered curses, but Allie couldn’t catch the words. Probably just as well.
“Mommy, I don’t like it here. This isn’t a very fun ‘venture.”
Despite everything, Allie smiled. “I know, baby. You’re right. This adventure sucks.” She gave him a quick hug and Dougie squirmed, or rather, his shirt squirmed.
“Spike doesn’t like it either,” said Dougie.
“Well maybe you had better let him out to stretch his legs.”
“Okay.” Dougie tugged at the bottom of his shirt where it was tucked into his pants. The little dog slid out the bottom and plopped on the ground. He immediately jumped up and started dancing happily around Dougie’s feet. “Look Mommy, he’s happy now.”
“Yes, he is. He’s a good little dog.” Allie knelt down beside Dougie and put her hand on his cheek, looking him in the eye. “And you’re my good little boy. You’re being so brave. I’m very proud of you.” Tears threatened to spill from her eyes so she pulled Dougie close, blinking them away.
“I’m not brave,” Dougie’s voice trembled. “I’m scared and tired and hungry and I wanna go home.”
“Me too, little man.” She gave him another reassuring hug. “We’ll go home soon.” She looked down at Spike who had decided to chew Dougie’s shoelaces. “Come on. Let’s sit down and play with Spike.”
“Okay Mommy.” Dougie plopped himself down beside Spike and the little dog began to crawl all over him. Dougie laughed. “Look Mommy, he likes me.”
“He sure does. What’s not to like?” Allie smiled down at her son sadly and sat down beside him, her arm cradled in her lap. She looked around, trying to take stock of her surroundings and strained to listen to what was going on above. She spotted the rope that had fallen with her. It was still a good length, despite having been cut. Maybe she could use it to climb out?
Another muttered curse from above startled her from her thoughts. What the hell was he doing? More gravel rained down and then a shadow loomed over them again. She frowned up at him, but he didn’t say anything. A moment later he was gone. Allie listened to his retreating footsteps. Shit! Was he just going to leave them here? She jumped to her feet.
“Hey wait!…Wait! You can’t just leave us here.” There was no answer.
Okay, so maybe it was a good thing. If he was gone, maybe that would give them a chance to climb out. She looked around the top of the pit. Yes! There was a tree root sticking out near the rim. Could she get the rope over it? Would she be able to climb out with her broken arm?
Allie stood looking up to the top of the pit, plotting their escape, until a yell in the distance followed by a thunderous roar startled her from her thoughts. The ground shook. Dougie screamed and jumped to his feet, running over to grab onto her.
“ Shh…it’s okay,” she murmured.
“It was a monster, Mommy.”
Allie looked up at the now overcast sky and frowned. “I don’t know what it was, but it wasn’t a monster, little man. I promise.”
“Pinkie swear?” Dougie looked up at her hopefully.
“Pinkie swear.”
***
David Granger swore, cupping his damaged family jewels. That bitch! He limped to the edge of the pit and looked down. Maybe the fall broke her damn neck. The bitch was sprawled at the bottom of the pit, a look of pain on her face. Good.
“Fucking bitch!”
he shouted down, kicking at the loose gravel. He paced back and forth, limping because of the throbbing pain in his groin. Fuck. All his fun ruined. He had been looking forward to taking the bitch’s tight little ass for a ride. He cursed and kicked the ground. Oh well, at least there was still the cash and then he’d get the hell out of this cowtown.
“Hey!” the bitch called up from below. “Hey! You can’t just leave us…” Blah, blah, blah. Wasn’t that just like a woman, ordering him around? Didn’t she fucking realize yet that he was in charge? He was the one calling the shots. Not his father. Not his brother. He would decide what to do or not do.
“You can fucking rot down there for all I care,” he shouted, giving the dirt another kick for good measure. He strode over to the bag he had set down in the clearing and pulled out a strip of jerky before checking his phone. He should probably call the coordinates in to Dustin, but he decided to wait a few more minutes. Wouldn’t want his brother to think he took it easy on the bitch. He had a reputation to uphold after all. David sat down on a fallen log and chewed on the jerky, smacking his lips. Damn, this stuff made a man thirsty and he’d left the beer back in the van.
With a curse he got to his feet and stomped over to the edge of the pit, peering over the side. What the hell? Where had that dog come from? He stared down for a moment puzzled. Damn kid must have been hiding it. There had been a whole mess of puppies back at the barn where he had snatched the brat. Whatever. Like he cared. They weren’t going anywhere and hell, now the bitch couldn’t complain about not having anything to eat. He laughed at his own joke then turned and started back up the trail. A beer would help pass the time.
Stomping through the brush, David frowned up at the sky. It looked like rain, better grab his jacket too. He looked back at the trail. Damn. Where was he? He stopped and looked around. Had he gone off course? This didn’t look…oh, there it was. Shaking his head, he changed direction, following the narrow path through the brush. He laughed when he heard the bitch call out. Let her think he was leaving them there to rot.
He crunched along the trail for a few more minutes when suddenly, his foot landed on the ground with a hollow crack. What the fuck? He watched mesmerized, as the ground below his feet fractured into a million spidery fissures.
Whoosh! Before he could react, the ground was suddenly gone and he was falling. He shouted a curse and grabbed for a handhold on the jagged edges of the ground. He screamed again as more of the edge broke off, toppling with him. He had a second of free-fall before landing at the bottom with a thud. The world went black.
Mike’s knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel of the truck. They were headed to the Circle D. He really wasn’t in very good shape for driving, but Brian had wanted to make a couple of calls on the way. He glanced over at Brian.
“Yes sir. I know sir. It’s kind of a delicate situation sir -” Brian paused, listening to the phone. “Yes sir. If I could just have a little more time - ” He paused again, then replied, “Seth, Seth Granger. He was working up at the Circle D. I’m on my way there now, but if you could just get me anything you’ve got on Granger and his known associates - ” He paused again. “Yes sir, as soon as I can. Thank you, sir.” He punched his phone off and let out a deep breath.
He turned to look at Mike. “Okay, so I bought us some breathing room.”
Mike frowned. “So if you suspected this Granger character all along, why didn’t you just bring him in or something?”
“Because that’s all I had, suspicions. Just because my gut was telling me the guy was off, didn’t give me the proof I needed to do anything about it.” He huffed out another breath. “Besides, with me being out on leave because of the baby the last little while, the case fell to Pickens.” Brian said the deputy’s name with distaste. “Pickens is a major bootlicker. He didn’t want to follow up on my suspicions and bring, and I quote, ‘undue disturbance to a highly respected family like the MacAllisters’, unquote.”
Mike cursed. “If it means getting Allie and Dougie back, I’ll tear that place apart with my bare hands.”
“Whoa there. Don’t go all crazy on me. We’ll just rattle Rowdy’s cage a bit. I know he’s holding something back. If we can find out where Granger might have gone, we can track him down.”
“Do you really think Granger has something to do with whoever took Allie and Dougie?”
“I’d bet my badge on it.” Brian frowned down at the phone in his hand. “I have bet my badge on it.”
***
“I still say we have to call the cops.” Evan looked from his father to his grandfather.
“No. They said not to.” Rowdy scowled from the other side of the room. He stood and hugged his arms to his chest as if he needed to shield himself from the angry glares that seemed to emanate from every corner of the room. He had confessed everything to his father and then again to his grandfather. The tongue-lashing he received from his grandfather still stung, but not as much as the disapproving and disappointed looks he had gotten from his parents. His mother refused to even look at him now.
“Evan is right. We need to involve the police, but we need to approach them quietly,” Randy replied. “What about that young fellow you went to school with? What was his name? Roger? Rogers?”
“Rogers. Brian Rogers,” Evan replied. “That’s a good idea. He’s a friend of Allie’s too.”
“Call him.” Duncan looked at Rowdy. “Ask him to come out here.”
***
Allie shivered. It was getting cold. She pulled Dougie closer, careful to keep her damaged arm out of his way. He had begun to zone out again, his way of coping with an unpleasant situation. He rocked back and forth in her arms and hummed tunelessly. Spike was tuckered out and had curled up in Dougie’s lap.
She looked up to the top of the pit. The sky was getting dark. Was it going to rain? She looked at her watch. It had been almost an hour since ‘Mean and Ugly’ had stomped away. Where the hell did he go? Was he meeting with Mike, demanding a ransom? She had no doubt that was what this was all about.
She felt water drip on her face and looked up. Just great. It was starting to rain. She huddled over Dougie protectively and began to rock back and forth with him. Humming a quiet lullaby, she added her comforting tune to his tuneless one. Whatever was going to happen, it had better be over soon. It had to be over soon. All she wanted in the world was to go home again.
***
Mike sat in a chair in the corner of Rowdy’s office, feeling helpless. He grimaced as he remembered the look on Rowdy’s face when they had walked into the office. The guilt was written there for all to see. Mike had strode across the room and sucker punched Rowdy in the stomach without even thinking.
“Where is she?” he had demanded, standing over the kneeling Rowdy, his fists clenched. Brian had rushed forward, grabbed his arms and pulled him away. “He knows! He knows something. Look at him,” he had bellowed. He had shaken off Brian’s hands and looked around the room, finally noticing the rest of the MacAllister clan standing there looking shocked. “Look at them. They know. They already know.”
The MacAllisters had all indeed known, having received a demand of their own. The bastards who took Allie were trying for a double payout. Brian had surprised him by quickly taking charge of the situation, even superseding the formidable Duncan MacAllister’s authority.
Rowdy had come clean about his involvement with Seth Granger and that’s how they had learned about Seth’s sons. Brian was now busy on the phone ordering up background checks and last known locations. Randy and Eleanor had offered to go by the farm and check on Bella and her pups and take care of the horses.
Duncan had also excused himself, opting to go to his own office where he could contact his accountant. Although they hoped to find Allie and Dougie as soon as possible, there was still a chance that they may need to come up with the r
ansom. Duncan thought it best to get the ball in motion and Mike had agreed. He had called his own family accountant to inquire about how long it would take to liquidate some of his own assets into cash. The answer hadn’t been reassuring - two or three days. Could Allie and Dougie last that long? Not unless they could get Dougie’s medication to him.
“I think they have a trailer somewhere around here,” said Rowdy. He had been slouched in a chair across the room from Mike, but he suddenly sat up. “Yeah, I remember. It’s out on Dunn’s Creek Road.”
Mike jumped up grateful to have something to do. “Well, come on. Let’s go check it out.”
Rowdy got to his feet, followed by Evan. Brian frowned and covered his phone with his hand. “Wait up you guys. You can’t just go out there without a - ”
“Yes we can. We’re not cops. We’re just law abiding citizens stopping by a former employee’s place.” Rowdy smirked. “Come on. Let’s go.”
Brian looked pensive for a moment. “Okay. But keep a lid on your tempers. Landing in jail on assault charges isn’t going to help Allie or Dougie.” He looked pointedly at Mike.
The three men hurried out of the office and climbed into Rowdy’s truck. Mike scowled up at the sky. The rain that had been threatening had finally started to fall. Wherever Allie and Dougie were, he hoped they were warm and dry.
***
Allie huddled miserably over Dougie. The rain had begun to fall steadily and she was soaked. She looked at her watch, just barely able to make out the numbers in the dim light. It was well past seven; time for Dougie’s medication. She knew that he would probably be okay for a while yet, the medication stayed in his system a long time, but she also knew the longer he went without his regular meds, the more likely he was to have a seizure.
“Mommy, my bum’s wet.”