by Sara L Foust
The thought took her breath. Was she really even considering it? She could keep Paul safe. And maybe the boy would open up more and remember something that would help her find Cody.
Annalise whipped out her phone and dialed before she lost her nerve. “Cathy, we need you.”
“Figured as much. I’m already on my way.”
Chapter Seventeen
HOW LONG WOULD IT TAKE the cops to find him? Cody scooched into the corner farthest from the door. His stomach growled. He swigged the last of the grimy water and hoped it would at least make him feel full for a little while.
The man hadn’t checked on him in a long time. Maybe it was time to start trying to dig out of this place with the little piece of two by four he’d found this morning. Was it just this morning? He would give anything for a flashlight and a watch. And some food.
And he could probably use some medicine for his hand. Every time he moved, he felt something wet seeping out of it. That probably wasn’t a very good sign.
His eyes slid closed. There wasn’t much else to do but try to sleep. Maybe he’d have another dream about home, and, for a few moments anyway, he could pretend he was safe and well fed and warm.
The cellar door flung open, the crash making him jump.
“What are we gonna do with him, Jimmy Vern?” A voice Cody hadn’t heard yet filtered down the concrete stairs.
He was surprised to see that it was pitch black outside. When had nighttime fallen?
“That boy knows something. I ain’t doing nothing with him until he tells me where my money is.” Jimmy Vern stomped down the stairs and into view. “Had time enough to think, boy?”
“I swear, I don’t know anything about any money.”
“All right, say I believe you. Tell me what you do know.”
“Nothing. Nothing, I swear.” Cody didn’t like the tremor in his voice.
Jimmy Vern bent close. “You’re a liar.”
Cody ran the memories of their hike through his mind. Nothing else had happened. He’d taken the gun. Ran. Went home and dumped the thing. And then Jimmy Vern had grabbed him. He shook his head.
Jimmy Vern slapped him.
A bolt of lightning ran through his jaw, into his head, and down his spine. Hot blood trickled down his cheek, and tears sprang to his eyes. No, he would not cry. He couldn’t.
“Aw, look at that. Little fella cryin’ for his mommy,” the second man chided from the stairway.
“Who were you with, boy?”
Cody shook his head, earning him a second blow. His head bounced off the stone wall behind him. Black pulled in from the corner of his vision. “No one.” He would not rat on his friends.
Jimmy Vern jumped to his feet. “Fine. No food until you talk. You hear me?”
Cody nodded.
“Glad you understand. I mean business. You will tell me where my money is, or you will die with your little secrets.”
“THANKS, KIRK.” ZACHARY hung up the phone and paced his living room. Kirk had touched base with TBI and gotten a firsthand update. Though they had nothing directly related to Cody’s kidnapping, they may have something related to the Moonshine Mafia. In a roundabout way, maybe the one trail would lead to the other. After all, there was no doubt in Zach’s mind Jimmy Vern was involved in both.
He put his phone on speaker, so he could pack. “Annalise?”
“Yeah?”
“What’s wrong? Well, besides the obvious.”
“Long story. I’ll catch you up later. What’s going on?”
“I’m headed to North Carolina. Over near Cataloochee.”
“What? Why?”
“Well, not entirely sure yet. Some campers heard horses on a trail above the grounds, where there aren’t supposed to be any horses.”
“Okay, so someone broke a few trail rules. Why on earth is the SMIF getting involved?”
“The day before, the campers heard a loud bang and saw smoke.”
“You buried the lead a bit there, didn’t you, Zach?”
“Makes it more exciting that way. Something strange is going on, and Kirk and I are going to figure out what.”
“Be safe.”
“Want to tag along?”
“I kinda can’t. I told you it’s a long story. I want to hear what you find though, soon as you do.”
“Talk to you in a few days.”
He shot his mom a text, grabbed his bag, and headed for the truck. At a truck stop on I-40E, he parked his vehicle and hopped in Kirk’s truck.
“Ready?”
Zach nodded, and though his thoughts should have been focused on the task ahead, he couldn’t put Annalise out of his mind. She was worried about Cody, obviously. But something else was going on. Probably Dave. Maybe he really should call and give him a piece of his mind. He sighed. Nope. Still a terrible idea.
“You okay, man?” Kirk shot him a sideways glance.
“Yeah, just worried about Annalise.”
“Kidnappings are always hard.”
Zach nodded. “I don’t think she’s going to find the boy alive.”
“Unfortunately, probably not. It’s a sad but true fact of these cases that most victims don’t make it home.”
Zach knew Kirk must have seen some gruesome and unbelievable things during his time with TBI. Would Zach have to say the same thing someday? He’d been so excited about this opportunity, he’d never stopped to think about that aspect. There was a reason why task forces like these were called special. It certainly took a certain mentality to be able to work heinous crimes and not lose one’s sanity. Maybe he shouldn’t be pushing Annalise so hard toward joining him after all.
“THIS IS THE LIVING room.” Duh. Annalise wanted to roll her eyes at her own wit. “And the kitchen is here. The guest bath is down the hall.”
Paul dutifully followed her without making a sound.
“And, here is your room.” She spun to face him. “Look, I know this is weird, but...” But what? “Anyway, you’ll find extra towels under the bathroom sink, and help yourself to anything you want in the kitchen.”
He tossed his backpack on the bed. “Thanks.”
“I’m going to go change. I’ll check on you in a minute.”
He didn’t respond.
It was midnight. Where was Dave? The empty driveway practically screamed its loneliness when she pulled in. She dialed with shaking fingers.
He answered, sounding as if she’d awakened him. “Hey, hon.”
“Hey.” She smoothed the frustration in her voice. “Where are you?”
“Got a hotel up here in Gatlinburg. Didn’t you get my message?”
Would she be freaking out so badly if she had? “No.”
“I’m sorry. I tried to call, but you didn’t answer.”
“Oh. When was that?”
“Coupla hours ago.”
She sucked in a breath. “Is everything okay?”
“Just wanted to get an early start in the morning. Thought I’d save the gas too.”
By paying for an expensive hotel room? “Look, I have something I really need to talk to you about.” She glanced at the closed door, imagining the scared, tough kid just down the hall.
“Okay...”
“We have a house guest for a few days.”
His voice dropped several octaves. “Who?”
“You know the boy who was kidnapped?”
“You found him?”
Oh, how she wished she could say yes. “No. It’s a friend of his. I’m kind of being his protective detail for a bit until we can figure everything out.”
“Really?”
The tone in his voice wasn’t what she expected. He sounded surprised but not angry. And suddenly she wanted to open up to him. To share all the thoughts and fears and feelings these boys had elicited for the past couple days. “You’re not upset with me?”
“Nope. Surprised you are letting a kid stay with us but not upset.”
She sighed. “Thanks, hon. Want to hear about him?�
��
He yawned. “Maybe in the morning.”
Oh. She frowned. “Okay. Love you.”
“You too. Good night.”
By the time she changed and checked on Paul, he was sound asleep, looking vulnerable and small in the queen-sized bed. He may pretend to be tough when people were looking, but he was as terrified as any child should be in his situation, wasn’t he?
Chapter Eighteen
ZACH ZIPPED OPEN HIS tent and stepped into a foggy, gray morning. Warm for fall, down in the Cataloochee valley. Maybe they’d get lucky and see an elk or two today too.
Kirk already waited on a stump, gnawing on a protein bar. “Ready?”
That seemed to be Kirk’s favorite greeting. “Let’s go.” Zach ate his peanut butter bar as they drove the short distance to the end of the road, and then he tucked the rest of the box into his backpack. Who knew how long of a day lay ahead of them?
TBI had given them the information for the trailhead’s location, but past that it was an open board of possibilities. Endless, rolling mountains of possibilities.
“That seem odd to you?” Kirk directed Zach’s attention to the truck and trailer tucked in a side road.
“Looks like someone tried to hide it, doesn’t it?”
“Exactly what I was thinking.”
“Why on earth would someone want to bring a horse trailer down that crazy, switch-backed, narrow, gonna-kill-you-if-you-take-the-turns-wrong road?”
“Good point.”
“Either there’s an incredible horse trail with an amazing, must-see view at the end, or these guys are crazy.”
“Or up to something illegal.” Kirk squeezed around the side of the trailer, between the close-sitting embankment. “No plates on the truck either.”
“Even better.” Why hadn’t the park rangers noticed the vehicle and called it in already?
“They only work weekends here. With an occasional pass through the campground when visitors are present.”
“You read my mind. So, these campers that reported the incident. Are they still here?”
“Left yesterday around lunchtime. Got their contact information though.”
Zach nodded. “It’s going to be a beast towing this outta here.” He chuckled. “Or even getting a tow truck in here to start with.”
“Another excellent point.” Kirk rubbed his chin. “Let’s say we hike up this road a ways instead of the trailhead.”
It would’ve been easy to confuse the directions. From the campground, anything that happened down on this end of the valley would’ve seemed like it came from the trail. More than likely the people on the horses, with their unplated truck, didn’t care so much about trails either.
“How do you suppose they got in here without anyone noticing?”
“Maybe someone did but didn’t think anything about it.”
“Or maybe they came in the lower road?”
“I don’t think many people use that end. It’s not very well maintained.” Kirk smiled. “And perfect for someone trying to stay under the radar.”
“It would’ve been a beast hauling a trailer and horses in on that road too. They must be pretty determined.”
It wasn’t hard to follow the trail the riders took, with the wet ground and patches of mud in the road. Piles of horse dung dotted their route. “How far does this old road go?”
“Top of the mountain. Used to be a fire tower. It burned down.”
“Seriously?”
“Yep.”
By lunchtime, they’d hiked as far as the side road would go, and the horse-track-trail continued, forging its own path through the dense forest. “Someone’s done this more than once, wouldn’t you say?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“We should have brought the tents.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“You okay?” Zach turned to where Kirk sat with his head cocked to the side.
“You hear that?”
ANNALISE DROPPED HER head to the table. She wanted to bang it against the wood. Maybe then she would have a breakthrough. Maybe then the clock on the wall wouldn’t be ticking so loudly, driving thumbtacks into the worry center of her brain. Fifty-six hours and counting.
Fifty-six hours and counting.
Fifty-six hours and counting.
Annalist shot to her feet and paced down the hall to peek in on Paul again. She knew teenagers slept late, but it was after noon already. Should she wake him?
Millie followed at her heels, her claws clicking softly on the wood floor. She stuck her nose through the doorway and sniffed but sat at Annalise’s feet.
Annalise bent to scratch her behind the ears. “Good dog,” she whispered. Millie seemed to be watching over Paul too.
Poor kid was probably exhausted just from living his life. Her phone jingled, so she crept back to the kitchen before answering it. “Captain Brooks, please tell me you have news.”
“Maybe something, but please don’t get your hopes up too high.”
Her hopes had bottomed out somewhere around four a.m., at the approximated forty-eight hour mark of Cody’s abduction. She wasn’t sure there was anywhere for them to go but up. At least a little. “What is it?”
“We had a call come into the hotline. A motorist passing through the area the morning of the kidnapping saw the news and thinks they may have seen Cody.”
“Where?”
“At a gas station in Maryville. They had just left Cades Cove headed out early from camping, stopped to fuel up, and said they saw something suspicious.”
“Oh?”
“The mom noticed a man open the back door of a dark grey Silverado. A child was in the backseat in an awkward position. She said it bugged her, but she brushed it off and thought maybe he was just sleeping.”
“Okay.”
“When they got home to Atlanta and watched the national news, they realized maybe the boy they saw matched Cody’s description.”
This was the first bit of information in two days that made sense. Eyewitness testimony was arguably unreliable, but what if just this once it panned out?
“I want you to meet a sketch artist at their home this afternoon, see if they can remember anything else while you’re there.”
“What about Paul?”
“Bring him on over. I’ll put him to work washing the trucks.”
“Oh, I’m sure he’ll love that.”
Captain Brooks chuckled. “Good for the boy.”
“Right. Gonna have to wake him up first.”
“He’s still asleep? What kind of ship you runnin’ over there, Officer?”
She giggled. “The kind that’s never had a teenager before.” Or any child for that matter.
“All right, get a move on.”
“Captain Brooks?”
“Yeah?”
She chewed on her cheek and then sighed. “Do you think we’re too late?”
The long pause was enough of an answer for her. When he finally did speak, his voice was clouded with emotion. “We will bring to justice whoever did this, God willing. It may be all we can do at this point.”
She pressed down the lump in her throat. “Yes, sir. See you soon.”
For a few minutes longer, she stood in the doorway and watched the deep rhythm of Paul’s breathing. When she woke him, reality would come crashing back down into his world. And hers.
She touched his covered foot. “Paul? Time to get up.”
He startled awake and looked at her with wide eyes.
Did he forget where he was for those first moments of wakefulness? “I have to go to Atlanta for work. Captain Brooks is going to hang out with you today. Okay?”
He nodded. “Give me ten minutes.”
She let him get ready while she packed a cooler with some snacks and drinks for her trip. Pit stops were too time consuming.
Paul was silent on their drive down to the station, and Annalise certainly didn’t know what to say. She had questions, but something held her from asking. “Want me to w
alk you in?”
“Nah.” Paul swung open the passenger door and hopped out, slamming it behind him.
She waited until he disappeared into the firehouse to pull away. She’d known him less than a day and already wanted to make sure eyes were on him at all times. The man who’d taken Cody was possibly also a murderer. What lengths would he go to?
After swinging in to check on Celine briefly and then Brian, Annalise jumped on the interstate and aimed south.
Chapter Nineteen
A GOOD FIFTEEN MINUTES had passed, and whatever was stomping through the forest had yet to appear. Zach and Kirk stood on opposite sides of the end of the dirt road and squinted into the trees. How could something make so much noise and not be in their line of sight?
“See anything yet?”
“Nope,” Kirk answered without looking away from the trees.
“It’s got to be a deer eating acorns.”
“Or an elk.”
Finally, Zach spotted a sliver of brown between trunks.
A well-muscled buck stepped into full view.
“Kirk,” he hissed.
“What?”
“Take a look at this fellar. He’s gorgeous.”
Kirk joined him and peered down a slight incline. “Wow. Trophy buck if I ever saw one.”
They watched the buck work his way across the side of the hill, picking acorns from the downed leaves.
“He seemed awful calm, didn’t he?” Kirk commented after the buck was fully gone from view.
“Yeah. Like he hasn’t seen a human—or a horse—anywhere nearby.”
“You read my mind.”
“What now?”
“My gut is telling me to keep following the trail. You?”
“Yep. But we don’t have enough supplies for a long haul through the woods.”
“Think Annalise could help?”
“Maybe. What do you have in mind? I’ll give her a call.”
“By the time we hike back down to camp, she could be here with supplies. Then tomorrow morning, first thing, we hit it hard. By sundown tomorrow, maybe we can figure out where this thing goes.”