“Who are you? Her brother?” Marcus mocked.
One of the girls with him sized Joe up. “I like him.”
Marcus glared at her. “Did I say you can speak?” He turned back to Arden and Joe. “What do you want? Make it quick.”
Arden looked at the girls. “Could you girls step outside for a moment?”
Joe’s intimidating look was enough to get them to get up and quickly abandon Marcus.
Marcus cursed, “Are you kidding me?”
He leaned back in the booth with his arms spread out over the back rim. “Okay, you have my attention. What do you want?”
“You seem calm,” Joe said, looming over the man.
Marcus shrugged.
Arden removed a picture of Scarlet. “You recognize her.”
Marcus glanced over. “Yeah, that’s the girl from… uh, you tell me. Who are you, and why are you here?”
Joe smiled scarily. “We ask the questions.”
“I don’t--”
Joe approached the man.
Marcus’s confident posture fell apart. He put both of his hands together nervously. “Okay, geez.”
“The girl, Marcus,” Arden repeated. “What about the girl.”
Marcus didn’t make eye contact. “She’s from that Civil War show.”
“That Civil War show?” Joe said back in a condescending manner. “I think it's more than that to you.”
Arden put a hand on her hip. “You saw Scarlet two nights ago.”
Marcus’s face went pale. “You’re crazy. Both of you. Get out of my booth before I get the bouncer.”
“Where is she, Marcus?” Joe asked.
“Why should I know?” Marcus replied.
Arden walked up to him. “Because you saw her at the post-Emmy party. The one you snuck into. Sound familiar?”
Marcus turned as white as a ghost. “Okay,” he mumbled. He turned his fearful gaze up to Joe. He tried his best to stay strong. “You want to talk. We’ll talk. But not here.”
Marcus stood up. Joe glanced back at Arden, waiting to see her next move. She opened her mouth to speak when she saw Marcus’s hand quickly reaching into the back of his pants.
“Joe--” Arden called out just as Marcus pulled out a stun gun and jammed it into Joe’s torso.
He let out a gurgle as the Taser sent a jolt throughout his body. He crumbled to the floor while Marcus held it against him. Arden quickly rushed around the flank. Marcus dashed over the table and rushed into the hall. Arden chased after him and slammed him into the hallway wall. The loud music muted the tussle as Arden took the man’s wrist holding the stun gun and bent it up his back. He shouted. “Help! Help!”
The bouncer turned Arden’s way. She froze for a second, giving Marcus just enough time to bust out of her lock. He rushed down the hall and out the emergency exit. Arden rushed after him. She hit the door just as it fell shut and stumbled onto the back alley. Marcus ran at full speed. Arden followed after him, gaining yard after yard. Marcus glanced back and tripped over a trash bag. It was enough of a lag that Arden was able to tackle him to the ground. They both crashed on the asphalt. Marcus’s stun gun skipped across the alley floor and away from view. Arden quickly positioned herself to have a knee planted on his back, another hand twisting his arm, and the final hand pressing the man’s face into the ground.
“Why were you at the party, Marcus?”
Marcus fought against her grip. Arden tried her best to keep him pinned, but he was still a man. “You’re hurting me.”
Arden pushed his arm up more. Marcus grunted in pain as he hammered his other fist into Arden’s thigh. “Tell me why you were there, or do you want the cops to come?”
“Let me go,” Marcus said.
Arden put on more pressure until his entire body was quaking in an attempt to break free.
“Okay, okay, I --”
“Marcus.”
Arden turned back at the sound of the unknown voice. Six silhouetted thugs stood at the threshold of the alley.
“Oh no,” Marcus said.
Arden didn’t move. She waited for the thugs to speak.
One of them stepped toward Arden. “Our friend Marcus has been a bad boy.”
“Get me out of here,” Marcus pleaded to Arden. “Please. For the love of God.”
Arden kept Marcus pinned and said to the strangers, “This doesn't have anything to do with you.”
The leader was a bald man with large muscles and a teardrop tattoo. Snakes, cranes, and other creatures were painted all up and down his arms. He said to Arden, “Marcus owes us a lot of money - that makes him ours. We want to collect. You don’t want to be part of that.”
Arden stared down the thugs. “This man stinks of felony. That’s something none of you want to be part of. Walk away.”
The lead thug took a step forward. “Lady. This is your last warning.”
As the final word left his mouth, Joe burst out of the bar. His haggard face had gained twenty years from the tasing. Panting, he glanced at Arden and Marcus and then at the thugs. A perplexed expression flashed over his face.
“Go inside,” one of the thugs threatened. He used a lot more expletives than that.
The thug approached him.
Joe’s feet stayed planted.
Meanwhile, the thug leader walked Arden’s way, forcing her to make an impossible choice. The first was to stand up and confront the man like Joe was doing, but that would allow Marcus to escape. The other option was to stay on Marcus, but that left her wide open for an attack.
Suddenly, the lead thug put his hand on Arden’s shoulder.
Arden quickly jabbed him in the balls.
Marcus escaped Arden’s hold and ran down the alley.
She went after him.
Two of the six thugs followed behind.
Joe handled the others while the leader hurled insults.
6
The Chase
The chase through the alley left Arden winded. It was like she was on a rollercoaster with countless twists and turns. She rounded the corner and hurdled over spilled trash.
Marcus dipped through a hole in a fence.
Arden passed under and entered into a parking lot.
Behind her, two of the thugs spilled out of the fence’s hole.
Arden kept running. Marcus tried different car doors on his way through the lot but didn’t find any that were unlocked. He turned and ran down a skinny street instead.
Arden glanced over her shoulder. The men chasing her were gaining speed. She needed a plan, but her mind was too locked on the chase to do any critical thinking. She’d have to trust her instincts and pray that the Lord would lead her down the right path.
Marcus dashed out into the street as traffic zipped by on both lanes. That didn’t stop him from running across the street. A car thumped his hip as it stopped. Marcus stumbled but kept running.
Arden glanced both ways, seeing crowds on the sidewalks. They were pouring out of bars and nightclubs. Not seeing another way to cross the street, Arden followed Marcus’s path. She weaved through the cars just as they started moving again. Horns blared. Obscenities were shouted at her. She reached the other side. Traffic deterred the thugs.. They tried to find an alternative path.
Marcus ran around the back of the motel. Doused in sweat, Arden went after him as he run into the woods. Marcus’s sprint died into a weak jog. Arden was able to catch up. Marcus ended his escape at a large oak tree. His back slammed into bark and he panted like a tired dog. Headlights from the highway could be seen through the woods behind him.
Marcus coughed and spit.
Arden approached him. Her leg muscles burned. She rested her palms on her knees for a moment and wiped sweat from her brow. The run was painful. Arden straightened up and took a few steps toward him.
Marcus shook his head and said with a dry voice, “You’re crazy.”
“What did you do with Scarlet?” Arden asked.
“I told you. Nothing.”
> Arden pulled out her phone.
“What are you doing?” Marcus asked.
“Calling the police.”
“What? No, I told you. I’m innocent,” Marcus argued.
Arden pressed “nine” on the number pad.
Marcus spoke quickly. “I loved Scarlet’s show. When I heard she would be in a public place, I wanted to see her. That’s all. I swear.”
Arden pressed “one.”
Tears welled in Marcus’s eyes. “I didn’t take her.”
“Then who did?”
“A monster,” Marcus replied. “Scarlet is perfect and beautiful and smart.” He cracked a smile.
“She’s eleven years old,” Arden reminded him.
“It’s just a number,” Marcus said.
Arden’s stomach twisted.
She pressed the second “one.”
Arden kept her eyes on the man as the dispatch officer answered the call.
Marcus reached for a branch. Before Arden could open her mouth, the desperate man swung it at her. Unable to get out of the way, Arden held up her forearm and took the hit. The stick snapped against her bone, sending wood splinters flying. A powerful burst of pain exploded across her arm.
Arden gasped. She could hear the 911 operator saying, “Ma’am. Ma’am? Are you alright?”
Marcus jumped at her. Arden dropped the phone to defend herself, but she wasn’t ready for the man’s tackle. Her back slammed into the dirt. A gasp of air escaped her lungs. In silent rage, the man grabbed Arden’s throat and squeezed. She felt her esophagus get pushed in. In desperation, Arden clawed at the man’s eyes. Her nails raked through the skin on his flesh. He howled in pain and squeezed tighter. The corners of Arden’s vision darkened. Her breath was completely cut off. She kicked violently, but the man had overtaken her.
“Ma’am? Did you hear me?” the dispatch lady asked.
In the corner of Arden’s vision, she saw a rock on the dirt. She reached for it. Her fingertips brushed against the smooth, cold stone. Marcus squeezed harder. Arden fought with everything she had. However, the more she tried to stop him, the tighter he squeezed and the more breath she lost. She didn’t know how much time she had left. Her head screamed in pain as she lost oxygen. Dots filled what remained of her fading vision.
With her last bit of energy, Arden shimmied over enough to barely take hold of the rock. She knew that if she didn’t stop Marcus now, she would meet her Creator. Arden wasn’t ready. Not with her sister’s death unsolved. Not with more murderers and rapists walking about. Arden didn’t just want to live. She needed to live.
Her dirty finger clenched the rock. The corner of the cold stone drilled into the palm of her hand.
Marcus glared at her. In the darkness, Arden could only see his shadowy silhouette and the whites of his unblinking eyes. His expression was cold and without emotion. What humanity was left of him had left, and all that remained was a primal beast killing its prey.
Not today, Arden heard in her head. She couldn’t tell if it was her survival instincts or the voice of God. At the moment, all that mattered was that the rock she had grabbed was now slamming into the side of Marcus’s head.
He cried out and fell off of her.
Arden quickly scrambled across the forest floor. She was still seeing dots in her vision. Every breath was agony.
Marcus was on his hands and knees. Arden’s fingernails had created long cuts down his face. The blunt force from the rock had destroyed his left ear.
Still breathless, Arden crawled to her phone. She didn’t remember the name of the hotel she’d run by, but she did remember the bar. “Across… street. Smoking Pig,” Arden said.
Marcus used a low-hanging branch on the tree to stand up. One of his eyes was closed. One of his hands held his damaged ear. Blood leaked through the gaps between his fingers. In the distance, footsteps approached. Arden glanced over and saw the two thugs.
They paused for a moment. One chewed gum. The other one just stared.
Marcus held out a finger to them. “Wait, guys --”
One of the men walked up to him and punched him in the stomach. Marcus doubled over. The man grabbed Marcus by the throat and pinned him against the tree.
The other thug walked up to Arden. She glared at him. He went to grab Arden. She swatted at him, but the last brawl left her winded and weak. The man grabbed both of her wrists and started to drag her. Arden squirmed, but she didn't have much fight left in her.
The one pinning Marcus said, “You’ve had a bad day, huh? So tell me, you paying up or are things only going to get worse? My girls ain’t free, and to see you around here again is just insulting.”
“Please…” Marcus pleaded.
The one pulling Arden took her farther into darkness. Arden screamed, but her voice was broken. Hand prints bruised her neck.
Sirens sounded from the unseen street. Red and blue flashing lights could be seen from the distance. The thug dragging Arden stopped. He said something in Spanish to his partner. The partner bickered back. As the sirens got louder, the guy pinning Marcus groaned. Knowing that he had to leave, he pulled something out of his pocket. Arden saw the glint of the switchblade in the moonlight. Arden tried to yell out but was too late. The thug stuck Marcus’s gut and took off running. The thug dragging Arden ran too, but not before saying. “If you tell anyone, we’ll kill you next.”
Arden lay on the forest floor for a long moment. Marcus had slid to the base of the tree. He held his bloody stomach and grimaced. “God, help me,” he said.
Arden was praying the same.
She rolled herself to her belly and crawled over to the man.
Marcus stared at her desperately with his one open eye.
Arden, though her emotions were screaming no, placed her hand over his and applied pressure to the wound. She kept her eyes locked with Marcus. Though no words were spoken, if one of them broke each other’s grip, it would be over.
“Why...?” Marcus asked.
Arden wasn’t sure of the answer herself. Was it because she wanted to find Scarlet perhaps? Maybe it was the plea of the man’s prayer? Or a demonstration of grace? Arden wasn’t really thinking. She just acted.
Wielding large torch flashlights, a small group of cops entered into the woods and found the two of them. Arden wasn’t severely injured by her enemies, but that didn’t stop her entire body from aching, partly from pain and partly from fatigue. The EMTs put Marcus on a gurney. They placed pads to stanch the bleeding. One of them said to Arden, “What you did might’ve saved his life.”
Arden didn’t reply. Her attention was fixated on the sticky blood staining her hands. It was a strangely surreal feeling, knowing that the blood wasn’t her own.
The EMTs asked if she wanted to go to the hospital, but she turned them down. They insisted, but Arden wasn’t in the mood to spend the night on a patient bed. The cops took down her statement. She’d have to go to court to testify. Thankfully, the nightclub had cameras. It would’ve shown Marcus tasing Joe. Arden told them about her investigation and Marcus’s ties into Scarlet’s abduction. She also mentioned the thugs and described them by their tattoos. By the looks of it, the cops knew who she was talking about.
“They’re just a couple of gangbangers. It’s been hard for us to pin anything on them, but this should work,” the cops said.
Before the EMTs left, Arden asked them to take pictures of her neck and arms. She wanted there to be evidence as to what happened just in case the jury needed it.
Joe gave her a call.
“I was just thinking about you,” Arden said while rubbing her neck.
“You good?” Joe asked.
“Yeah… Police have Marcus,” Arden replied. “How are you?”
Joe replied. “I survived. The thugs scattered when they heard I was a cop.”
“Where are you?” Arden asked.
“Outside the Smoking Pig. The authorities got my statement. Everything is cleared up,” Joe said.
“
Good,” Arden said. “The Gales will be glad to hear of our progress.”
“I’m sure they’ll be thrilled,” Joe said sarcastically.
Arden started to walk back to the main street. “You don’t sound too excited.”
“The girl is still missing. If she’s not in Marcus’s house, then where?” Joe asked.
Arden stepped onto the sidewalk. A lot of rubberneckers gave her funny looks. She couldn’t help but imagine what she looked like. Leaves were in her hair. Dirt covered her clothes. She had bruises on her neck. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying. She walked with a limp from running too much. “That’s up to the police to find out.” Arden said.
“So you’re giving up?” Joe said judgmentally.
“Our suspect is in the hospital, we have no other leads, and I just got the crap beaten out of me. As of now, we’re done,” Arden said. “I’ll meet you at the car.”
Arden hung up. She felt deep inside that there was probably more to this case than what was being presented. She wanted to push the extra mile and not give up until the girl was found, but one of the hardest things an investigator must know was when to let go. She’d done her part for now. It was time to rest…
In the darkness of his private in-house theater, Charles Gales sat on his nice leather chair. The light from the motion picture illuminated off his cold face. On screen, Scarlet Gales carried buckets of water into the horse stable. She fed them to mares on the perfectly recreated Antebellum-inspired set. Another actor entered the background of the picture. It was the enemy of Scarlet’s father from the TV show. Seeking vengeance, he found the girl alone and said, “Does your daddy know you’re out here?”
Charles sipped his scotch. The picture was muted, but Charles knew every word by heart. His numbed expression showed no hint of the storm of thoughts raging in his mind. On screen, he watched his daughter get taken by the man. The little girl fought tooth and nail. She grabbed ahold of the post as the man pulled at her.
Behind Charles, a door opened.
“Honey?” Gracie called out.
Gracie walked up behind him. “It’s almost 3am.”
Secrets Boxset: A Riveting Kidnapping Mystery Collection Page 15