by Lynn Shannon
Vanish
Lynn Shannon
VANISH
Copyright © 2018 by Lynn Balabanos
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used factitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Scripture appearing in this novel in whole or in part from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Getting to the truth may prove deadly…
On a deserted country road, Janet West accidentally strikes a woman with her SUV. She gets out to render aid but is attacked and drugged. When she wakes, she’s back inside her vehicle and the woman—along with the assailant—have vanished.
Todd Duncan is shocked by the vicious assault and the haphazard investigation. Unlike the police, he believes Janet. She’s driven to find the woman regardless of the risk and, although Todd’s in town temporarily, he’s not leaving his friend to do this alone.
Yet the more they dig into the mysterious woman’s identity, the deadlier the threats become. Someone is determined to keep what happened that night a secret, and if they have to kill to do it…
So be it.
Also by Lynn Shannon
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Ranger Protection
Ranger Redemption
Ranger Courage
Coming 2020
Ranger Faith
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This book is dedicated to Eva. We both worked for years toward our different dreams, supporting each other every step of the way. We made it, my friend. I’m glad we could do it together.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
JEREMIAH 29:11
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Afterword
About the Author
One
Home renovations were going to get her killed.
Janet West white-knuckled the steering wheel. Rain pounded against the windshield and obscured her vision of the country road. In the space between the seats, a heap of different bathroom tiles mingled with the strap of her purse and a collection of paint color samples.
A whimper rose from the passenger seat. Callie, her golden retriever mix, cast a worried glance at her.
“I know, I know,” Janet said. “I spent too long in the hardware store before picking you up at the vet. I got carried away.”
Her headlights were no match for the storm and she flipped on her brights. Lightning flashed, followed by a window-rattling boom of thunder. Callie whimpered again and pushed her body against the seat. The poor dog was shaking.
“Five minutes and we’ll be home, girl.”
The farmhouse didn’t feel like home yet with its peeling plaster and horrific bathrooms, but after this week of renovations, Janet hoped it would.
“Todd should still be there, finishing up the kitchen backsplash. I’m sure you can convince him to sneak you a cookie.”
Callie’s tail thumped at Todd’s name. Her dog had fallen in love with him from the moment he’d set foot on the property. Not that Janet could blame her. Todd Duncan was ruggedly handsome and possessed both a quiet strength and an innate kindness she couldn’t resist either.
“What am I going to do with you when he leaves, huh?” she asked. “You know he’s only hanging around to finish construction on the house. Afterward, he’s moving on to his next adventure.”
The conversation was as much for Janet as it was for Callie. It wouldn’t do either of them any good to get attached to a man with one foot out the door.
Another bolt of lightning lit up the sky. Swollen ditches on either side struggled to keep up with the torrential downpour. Janet leaned closer to the windshield. She hadn’t missed the turn off for her drive, had she?
Something dashed into the road from the opposite side and she stomped on the brakes. The headlights reflected off fabric and a pale face.
Janet swerved.
Her head bounced against the side panel. The backend of her SUV fishtailed, skimming across the flooded asphalt, and a thump resounded against the side of the vehicle. She turned into the spin and pumped the brakes. Her heart pounded, the sound of it roaring in her ears, while the blur of trees beyond her windshield rushed closer. Janet’s body tensed, preparing to crash.
The tires found traction. The SUV slid to a stop inches from the deep ditch lining the side of the road. Rain battered against the roof. Something slick and warm trickled down her head.
She sat, stunned and motionless.
A wet nose nudged her arm. Janet sucked in a deep breath. She pried her fingers from the steering wheel and shoved the vehicle into park. Callie strained against the harness securing her to the seat and nudged Janet’s arm again.
“Are you okay, girl?”
She patted the dog with one hand and used the other to check her scalp. She winced as pain shot across her head. The wet liquid coating her fingers was inky-black in the weak light coming off her headlights.
Blood. On her hands.
With a jolt, Janet’s gaze shot to the rearview mirror. A barely discernible lump lay on the road.
No, no, no, no, no.
She flung her door open. Raindrops pelted her bare head and ran down her face in rivets, instantly soaking her. Goosebumps broke out across her skin. As if on autopilot, Janet flipped the hood of her coat up. She grabbed the flashlight from the side pocket with a shaking hand and raced toward the lump. Water soaked her tennis shoes, numbing her toes, and her breath came in short spurts.
Her flashlight flickered over a pale hand lying stark against the blacktop. Janet’s heart thundered and chills raced down her spine. Oh, God, no. It hadn’t been a nightmare.
The closer she ran, the more her light revealed. Ankle boots covered in mud and grass, soaked slacks, and a pale silk blouse. The woman’s wrists were rubbed raw, the skin broken and bloody, and a large purple bruise bloomed on her cheek.
Janet’s knees hit the pavement with bone-jarring force. Her whole body trembled. She placed her fingers along the smooth column of the woman’s throat.
She couldn’t find a pulse. A sob rose in her throat. She yanked the cell phone from her pocket and dialed 911.
Her phone beeped. And then nothing.
She had no signal. Tears ran down her face, mixing with the rain. She hit the buttons again. “Come on, come on!”
Fingers grasped her arm. Janet gasped and tumbled back. The flashlight fell from her hand and rolled a short distance before coming to a stop.
The woman on the road groaned.
Panic gave way to heady relief and Janet ripped off her jacket, spreading it across the woman’s torso. It was poor protection from the rain, but it was something. The woman grabbed her arm again, her chipped and jagged fingernails digging into Janet’s skin. Her dark eyes were wide. Desperate. Her mouth move
d, but no sound came out.
“You’re hurt.” Janet’s voice came out steady and sure, a far cry from the tangled emotions inside her. “I’m going to get help.”
She glanced back at her SUV. Her cell phone didn’t work, but she had an in-vehicle safety and security system. It was able to contact emergency services, even in most dead zones.
The woman tugged on her arm again, yanking Janet toward her. Up close, the lines on her face were visible. Her hair was gray at the roots, as if she normally dyed it but hadn’t in several months. Again her mouth moved. Janet couldn’t make out what she was saying.
“You’re going to be okay.” She worked her hand free. “I’m going to call for help, but I’ll be right back.”
In the distance, a dog barked. Lightning lit up the sky, as bright as day. The woman’s gaze flickered to something behind Janet. Her eyes widened.
Janet was yanked backward, lifted off the ground against a wall of hard muscle. A scream rose in her throat, muffled before it could pass her lips by a cloth closing over her nose and mouth. A pungent, musty odor filled her nostrils. The arm across her waist trapped her hands next to her body. She flailed her feet, landing a solid kick with her tennis shoe into a shin. Her attacker grunted. The dog barking grew furious.
The vise around her waist tightened, the man’s hold unrelenting. She couldn’t breathe. Her vision darkened. Janet bit the fabric covering her mouth, but only got cloth and not the flesh of her attacker’s hand.
Everything went black.
Two
Todd wiped a bit of grout off the backsplash, his attention drifting toward the window in the back door and the empty carport nearby. The deluge had relented to a steady drizzle. A tree branch had fallen on the far side of the yard, narrowly missing the storage sheds. It lay discarded in the grass, the jagged edge dangerously sharp, pine needles quivering in the wind. A silent testament to the dangers of being out in a thunderstorm. Todd’s hand tightened on the cloth.
Where was Janet?
She’d left the hardware store before the storm, but even if she pulled over to wait it out, she should’ve been back by now. He unhooked his cell phone from his belt and dialed her number. No answer.
His pulse elevated and his stomach grew queasy. This was the third time he’d tried to call and she hadn’t answered. The image of his parents’ destroyed sedan, the body dented and damaged, being pulled out of a ditch flashed in his mind. They hadn’t made it out alive.
Todd closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He needed to be reasonable. The county was full of dead zones. Janet could be driving through one, or she’d made another stop somewhere and lost track of time. There could be any number of reasons why she was late. Even as he talked himself through it, he was moving toward his truck in the driveway.
The springs protested when his weight landed in the front seat and the engine wheezed and rattled like it was on its last breath. Probably was. Todd could afford to replace it many times over, but sentimentality held him back. The old beast had carried him through thousands of miles while he crisscrossed the country, seeing every nook and cranny. The restless feeling plaguing him after his parents’ death only let up when he was on the move. The army had been good for travel, and after the service, he’d never spent longer than six months in any one place.
That was until Sweetgrass.
He’d been here eight months, most of it spent working on the West family ranch. He should’ve left months ago, but seeing the condition of the old farmhouse, he’d known Janet would need experienced help. Todd justified it because it meant earning extra cash, but his bank account didn’t need the padding. No, he’d been unable to leave for a far simpler reason. He hadn’t wanted to let go of their friendship yet.
At the end of the drive, he hesitated. There were two roads leading from Janet’s property into town. One was more commonly used, better paved and connected with the freeway. The other was worn and tired, more of a farm road, but it was a shortcut from the hardware store.
He headed for the farm road. If she’d had an accident, it would take forever for someone to notice her there. His windshield wipers swiped away the drizzle. Clouds hung low and dangerous, promising the reprieve from the rain was brief. He took a wide curve and hit the brakes.
Janet’s SUV sat on the road, the back-end inches from a flooded ditch. The driver’s side door hung open. A dog was howling. Callie. The sound was mournful, low, and sent shivers down Todd’s spine. He shoved his truck into park and got out. Rain tapped against the brim of his ball cap and drizzled down into his shirt.
Callie caught sight of him. She stopped howling and gave three short yips. Todd’s boots slid to a stop. Janet’s rain jacket lay in the middle of the road, a puddle of red against the dark asphalt. It looked like blood. His legs went weak, his feet faltering.
Lord, no. Please, not Janet.
He sucked in a sharp breath and held it as he moved around the side of the SUV’s door. Janet was hunched over the steering wheel. Her curly hair was tangled. Trails of blood crept along one cheekbone, the color exaggerated by her pallid skin. Her eyes were open, but she appeared to be staring at nothing.
A sharp stab of pain jabbed him in the chest, close enough to his heart to feel like it was breaking. He grabbed the SUV door as his military training kicked in. He scanned her and realized her chest was moving.
She was breathing. Thank you, Lord.
Had she been in a car accident? The SUV appeared undamaged. Was it just the bump on her head?
“Janet?” He placed a hand on her upper arm. Her sweater was sopping wet. “Are you okay?”
She jerked in her seat. A fist swung toward his face. Todd reacted instinctively by dodging it. She screamed and launched from the vehicle like a wild woman. He backed up, trying to deflect her attack while not hurting her.
“Janet, stop!”
She pushed him toward the other side of the road. Her eyes were open, but it was like she wasn’t seeing him. A knot tightened in his stomach. She landed two solid punches on his upraised arms, hard enough to bruise flesh. He didn’t care about his own, but she would damage her knuckles.
He caught her wrists, grasping them gently. “Janet! It’s me—Todd.”
She froze. Blinked. Blinked again. She inhaled a sharp breath as recognition flitted across her pretty features.
“Todd.” His name came out on a whisper. Her body sagged, and if he hadn’t been holding her, she would’ve sunk to the ground. “I—”
The word cut off on a sob. He pulled her against his chest and her soaked clothes wet his own. What had happened? Janet’s raincoat lay nearby on the road, and a sick thought occurred to him. His body heat rose, but Todd tamped down the anger when she trembled in his arms. He needed to stay calm.
“It’s okay. I’ve got you.” He wrapped the ends of his jacket around her, a shield against the rain and cold. “You’re safe now.”
She stiffened and pushed away violently, knocking him off balance. “Where is she?”
He frowned. “Where’s who?”
She raced forward a few steps. Todd followed, but she bounced around the road like a ping-pong ball in an arcade machine. Callie, still strapped in the vehicle, sensed her master’s emotional turmoil and started howling.
“Where is she?”
Janet stumbled and lifted a shaking hand to her head before bending at the waist and heaving. He closed the distance between them, lifting her hair out of the way. Todd had no idea what was happening, but his first priority was to take care of her.
“You need to go to the hospital.”
“No.” Janet sucked in a breath and pointed to her discarded raincoat. “She was right there. He took her.”
She wasn’t making any sense. How hard had she hit her head? Concussions weren’t anything to play around with and all the symptoms pointed to one.
Her gaze lifted. Met his. Hidden in their depths, amid the seaside-blue, there was terror. An icy cold finger touched the back of his neck
.
“We need to call the police, Todd. Right now.”
Three
Beams of early morning sunlight streamed through the kitchen windows, making patterns along the tile floor and the new backsplash. Janet swallowed two painkillers and chased them with a sip of coffee. The warm liquid traced a path to her belly but failed to ease the coldness in her bones or the lingering sense of vulnerability and worry.
Yesterday had been a whirlwind of doctors and tests and questions by the police. They hadn’t found the woman. They didn’t even know her name, but the haunting image of her face appeared all night in Janet’s dreams. She sent up a prayer for the woman’s safety. Another one. What hours she hadn’t spent sleeping, she’d been talking with God.
She glanced in the backyard but didn’t see Callie. Carrying her coffee mug, she went to the windows overlooking the front of the house. A familiar beat-up truck with a dented driver’s side door and rusted chrome sat in her unpaved driveway. Her dog circled, sniffing the tires.
What in the world?
Crisp air stole her breath and her wading boots thudded against the wooden planks of the old porch. The front seat in the truck was tilted back. Todd’s eyes were closed, his leather jacket caressing his broad shoulders. Bristles covered his strong jaw and he was wearing the same flannel shirt from yesterday. She rapped on the window and he jolted upright, whacking his head against the handle over the door. Janet winced.
“Sorry,” she said as he opened the door. “I didn’t mean to startle you. What are you doing here?”