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“Hop in. I’ll give you a ride.”
“No thanks. I’m just going to the bus stop,” I said and turned away.
“Don’t be silly,” he said. “I can get you anywhere you need to go. And much quicker than that bus will.”
I considered my options. By car I could be home in 10 minutes. By bus, who knew how long it would take. And that was assuming I could figure out which bus to get on. It was too far to walk. Still not sure I was making the right decision, I opened the door and got into the passenger seat. I turned to give him directions, but he cut me off. “I know where you live.”
He was not in a talkative mood, which was fine with me. I did not know what to say to him, anyway. When we blew past the intersection, I turned and said, “We should have turned right back at the light.”
“Oops my bad.” He laughed. “I'll just turn around up here.” He pulled into the driveway of an abandoned warehouse and followed it to the parking lot behind the building. But instead of turning around, he put the car in park and shut off the ignition.
“What are you doing? Why did you stop?” Remembering my training, I kept my voice low and tried not to panic. Slowly, I inched my hand to the door handle.
“You should have been nicer to me, Ember.”
I yanked at the handle, but nothing happened. My voice firm, I demanded, “Let me out of this car right now. “
“Not until you give me a kiss.” When he leaned across the seat, I swung for his throat. But he was much quicker than I expected and grabbed my wrist. Instead of kissing me, he covered my face with a cloth. My last thought, before I blacked out, was that Logan and Aiden would be so disappointed in me.
Whatever had been on that cloth must have been awful potent. When I finally came to, I was still groggy and lightheaded. “Hello?” I called out again, but no one answered. I screamed this time, “Why are you doing this?”
No one knew where I was. It would be up to me to escape on my own. I took a couple of deep breaths, hoping it would clear my head. The air was damp and musty, but it helped. A little. Remembering what I had learned in self-defense class, I tried to assess my situation and survey my surroundings.
I still had my clothes on and breathed a sigh of relief that the bastard had not molested me—at least not yet. My hands were above my head, wrists bound to some type of pipe in the ceiling. I could tell by the way the restraints cut into my flesh, he had used zip ties. Water dripped, but the concrete floor and brick walls made it difficult to tell where the sound was coming from.
There were no lights on. A small window to the left and near the ceiling let in enough sun for me to see by. I turned my hips and could see all but the wall directly behind me. On the far one, a pair of wooden steps led upward. The wall to my right was piled high with cardboard boxes.
To the left there was a lifetime of kids' toys stacked haphazardly. Toys that once belonged to a little boy who grew up to be a psycho, I reminded myself. Further along the wall there were old chairs, an old-fashioned TV, and other outdated electronics. A bunch of kitchenware, including some very large knives, caught my eye. They were too far away for me to reach, but if I could get free, I would have a lethal weapon with which to defend myself.
Something scurried behind me. Rats! A shiver ran up my spine and I tried not to think of what would happen when the sun went down. I felt for a sharp edge on the pipe that I could cut the tie with, but its surface was smooth. Gripping the pipe, I lifted both feet off the ground. It did not budge. Releasing my hold on the pipe, I let all of my weight dangle from the ties. By the time I gave up, blood was running down my arm from where the sharp plastic had dug into my skin. Breathing rapidly and sweating, I could feel myself slipping back into the darkness.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Logan
“Hey Ted. What's up? That's great news.” I covered the speaker and told Aiden the police had recovered Ember’s car.”
“Don't get too excited,” Shaughnessy said. “They're pulling it out of the river right now. The Corp of Engineers closed the dam upriver, so the water level’s down right now. That’s how the patrol car could see it. The roof was barely above the surface.” I looked at Aiden, who was getting dressed, and frowned.
When Ted told me the vehicle had been recovered at Bethlehem Bend, it seemed even more likely that the car had been taken by some kid, looking for a thrill. The bend was on what had once been the site of a steel mill. But ever since the mill had shut down, it has been a popular spot for high school kids to gather.
“If you get down there before they tow it away, you can save your girlfriend the impound fees,” Ted pointed out. “Call Schultz. He’ll bring over a flatbed to haul it away for free. He might even give her a few bucks for the scrap.”
“I'll head down there right now. Thanks for the heads up, Ted.”
“Wait. I've got one other thing for you. That Chatman character. A friend at the prosecutor’s office owed me a favor. She couldn’t release the file, because technically it's still sealed, but she took a peek at it. Care to guess what he was arrested for?”
“Auto theft?”
“You got it. I'm going to send Brukowski out to have a conversation with him tomorrow.” There was still no evidence to tie Reggie to the crimes, but the cop Ted was sending to talk to him was the department's bench press champion. He could be very intimidating when he needed to be. “The guy will be so fucking scared he might confess on the spot.” He was still laughing when we hung up.
Aiden explained Ember got off work early and needed us to pick her up. “You go get her. I'm going to go down to The Bend.”
“Meeting Denise down there, are you?”
“Hilarious.” While getting dressed, I relayed everything Ted had told me. With a quick peck on the cheek, I said, “I'll meet the two of you back here and we can get ready to go to the park.”
I backed out of the driveway and turned on the radio. Born in the USA was replaced by Proud to be an American, and I turned the volume up. Main Street was lined with American flags, but there was virtually no traffic. By then, those residents who had not gone out of town for the long weekend were gathering for picnics. Just as the three of us would later in the park.
