A Memory Worth Dying For (36 page)

Daniel hung his head. “I didn’t ask her about it.”

“You pursued divorce without asking for her side of the story?”

Daniel nodded miserably. “My pride was hurt. I just wanted to hurt her back.”

Gerald moaned and rubbed his eye. “I can’t throw the first stone. You weren’t the only one who sent her away. I had plenty to say on the subject as well.” His face twisted with emotion. “Son, what have we done?”

Daniel sank back down on the couch, a look of utter agony on his face. When he looked at his father, tears filled his eyes. “Poor Marti. What she went through. I have to find her, Dad. I have to say I’m sorry . . . ask her to forgive me. I said horrible things to her . . . all because of my pride. She’ll probably never forgive me, but I have to say I’m sorry. I can’t stay around here and wait. I have to go find her.”

“Go, son. I’ll stay here. If she comes back, I’ll call you.”

The doorbell in the hall chimed, and the sound vibrated through Daniel’s heart.

“Marti!”

He ran to the front door and jerked the door open. On the porch stood a man instead of Marti.

Daniel’s heart slowed to a crawl. “Yes?”

“My name is Ralph Dell. I’m Shane Duke’s cousin. I was told to stop by here to get my check.”

“Check? For what?”

“For guarding Marti at the hospital. Detective Smith from the police department called and said they caught the stalker and to stop by here for my check.”

Daniel ran a hand through his hair. He had forgotten. The stalker must have made the call. He turned to his dad, whose face was as white as a sheet.

Gerald said only one thing. “Go.”

Daniel pushed past the guard and ran toward his truck. He turned his truck toward town with dread filling the cab like a fog. “Lord, please let Marti be okay. Protect her from whomever this is, Lord. Please.”

He was reaching for the phone to call Brent when his phone rang.

“This is Daniel.”

“Daniel, I didn’t know who else to call. I need help.”

“Veronica?”

“I’m worried about Daddy. He was talking out of his head. He was furious and raving about some nurse and Marti, and he never came home.” She broke off in a sob. “I’m scared, Daniel.”
“Wait a minute, Nikki. You’re not making sense. Start over.”

“When I left Daddy at the hospital, he was ranting and raving about some phone call he received. He said it was Marti’s fault. Daniel, he was so angry. I tried to stop him, but he left. At first I thought he was going home, but he jumped in his pickup and took off in the wrong direction. He rushed out of the parking lot so fast, he left skid marks all over the driveway. He was saying crazy things like ‘he was going to make Marti pay’ and ‘Marti should keep Mama company.’ Now I’m scared, Daniel, because he hasn’t come home yet. He was furious, and I don’t know what he might do—to himself or someone else.”

When the meaning of what Veronica was trying to tell him penetrated his understanding, sweat broke out on his forehead. Shane? Shane was the one after Marti?

“I need to tell Brent what you told me, Veronica. We’ll find your dad.”

He ended the call and rushed into the station. Brent was just inside the door.

“Any word?”

Brent shook his head. “No. they found her phone and purse still at the hospital. They’re in the process of checking the security tapes.”

“Veronica called and said her dad was acting crazy. Ranting and raving about Marti. She said he left the hospital in a rush and hasn’t returned home.”

While he was talking, Brent’s phone rang. “Simmons. He did? I’ll put out an APB. Finish searching the hospital, question all the staff, and I’ll let you know where to go from there.”

Brent looked at Daniel.

“What?”

“Shane was on the security tape. He left with Marti in a black SUV.”

Daniel’s pulse raced. “Shane has Marti.”

“Daniel, get Veronica on the phone. I’d like to ask her questions about what Shane said exactly. It might give us a clue where he took her.”

Daniel punched in the speed dial number for Veronica with shaky hands and handed the phone to Brent.

Daniel stumbled over to chairs lined up against the wall and fell into the seat. He held his head with his hands and prayed. “Lord, please help us find her. Please let her be okay.” What was it Veronica said she heard Shane say? Make Marti pay. Marti would keep Mary company.

Suddenly, he stood up. “Brent,” he yelled. “I know where he took her—the cemetery. Let’s go, and I’ll explain on the way.”

Brent and Daniel got into the patrol car and sped down the road.

“I hope this isn’t a wild goose chase, but yesterday, Shane said he goes to Mary’s grave every day to keep her company. He thought Mary might be lonely out under those trees all by herself so far from town. He said Mary never liked being by herself, and he wished he could find someone to visit her every day. And tonight, Veronica said Shane thought Marti would keep Mary company.” He glanced at Brent.

“You think he took her to the cemetery?”

Daniel shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine . . . but yes.”

Brent got on the radio and ordered every available unit to the cemetery. “Be on the alert for a black SUV. Go in from different directions, and let’s make it a silent run, boys. No lights, no sirens.”

Brent hung up the radio. “All we can do now is pray.”

SEVENTY-THREE

SHANE HAD A ROPE IN
one hand and the gun in the other.

“Lay down on the ground,” he told Marti.

Marti’s stomach clenched. “Please—”

“Lay down!” Shane gave her a shove. “I don’t want to hurt you, Marti, so just do as I say.”

Marti lay down on the ground. Shane pulled her hands behind her and tied them with the rope. Then he tied her feet together as well. She bit her lips when the ropes cut into the skin around her bandage, but she didn’t want to make him mad by whimpering.

Shane stepped to the SUV and opened the back door. He pulled out a long piece of thick plastic and set it on the ground. When Marti saw him pull out a shovel, her pulse pounded in her ears. Was he going to shoot her and bury her? Through dim vision, she saw him pull out a large battery-operated spotlight and a bouquet of flowers. He positioned the spotlight so it would shine toward a tall gravestone.

Marti turned her head to the side and read the inscription.

Mary Duke—Beloved Wife and Mother
.

Shane walked to the gravestone and propped the flowers against the grave.

“Hello, Mary. I’m sorry I haven’t been to see you lately, but I brought you some flowers and some company. Maybe Marti can keep you from being lonely.”

Marti was scared to make a noise, but a scream grew inside her head. Shane was going to bury her in the grave with Mary. He was mad.

Shane picked up the shovel and started clearing off the grass on top of the grave. After a minute or two, Marti heard the shovel hit dirt. He worked quietly and piled the dirt on one side of the grave.

Marti felt faint, like her brain was wrapped in cotton. Mentally, she shook herself. If she didn’t think of something, she was going to die. She needed to think—to plan.

Lord, please help me think of something.

She’d heard that by talking to their abductors, other kidnapped victims were able to talk their captors into letting them go. Would it work with Shane?

“Mr. Duke?” Her voice was too shaky. He couldn’t hear her. She took a deep breath and tried once again. “Mr. Duke?”

He looked at her but kept shoveling.

“Why have you brought me here?”

Shane stopped then and held the shovel just above the hole. “I brought you here to keep Mary company.”

“But, Mary’s dead, Mr. Duke. She doesn’t need company.”

“Yeah, she’s dead, but she still gets lonely, and it’s your fault she died.” When Shane started back digging, she felt the ground shake with the force he was using.

“M-my fault?”

“If you’d just stayed away, everything would have been okay.” His voice was loud and angry. “Daniel would have married my Veronica. She can’t have kids, but they would have had Chris. Mary made sure of that. All of us would have been happy. Mary too.” His voice broke. “But, Mary worried herself sick thinking you were coming back. Now she’s gone. And, I’m going to make sure my Veronica has what Mary wanted her to have—a family.” He stopped digging long enough to wipe tears from his eyes.

Marti’s skin prickled. She felt cold and clammy.
I’m fine. Everything is fine.

She was
not
fine. She was about to be shot and buried in a shallow grave.

Think, Marti! Think!

“Daniel and Veronica are getting married this Saturday, aren’t they, Mr. Duke? Veronica will have what she wants. You didn’t need to bring me here. Why don’t you untie me now and let’s go back home to see Veronica, okay? I won’t tell anyone what’s happened. We’ll just forget about this, and I’ll move back to Tennessee. You and Veronica and Daniel and Chris can be one big happy family.”

Shane put down the shovel, and Marti was scared to breathe. He walked over beside her. His face was covered with eerie black shadows from the spotlight shimmering across his face.

“You think I’m crazy. You don’t understand, do you? I have to do this. I’ve already done everything I can think of to keep you away. It didn’t work. And, there are people who know what we’ve done.”

Marti’s throat tightened. He would not be swayed. A sob hung in her throat.

Shane walked over beside the SUV and picked up the plastic bag. When he got closer, Marti felt her whole body go numb. It was a body bag—exactly like the coroner used.

Shane laid it down beside her and unzipped the bag. Then he picked up her feet and stuffed them into the bag.

“No! Mr. Duke! No!”

“Shut up, Marti. This will be easier. It won’t hurt like a gunshot would.”

“No! No!” Marti kicked and struggled. She hit at Shane with her head and legs until he exploded in anger. He balled his fist and slugged her in the jaw. Her world turned black, and stars appeared around her. She fought losing consciousness even as Shane stuffed her body into the black bag. A piece of duct tape ripped as he tore it from the roll and placed it over her mouth. She heard the zipper in the plastic as it worked its way around to the end of the bag, but feeble resistance was all she could manage. Her head felt as if it had exploded. The tape pulled at her mouth and pinched as she tried to yell.

Marti felt herself being dragged a short distance then she tumbled into a hole. She tried to move, but her head ached, and she couldn’t remember what to do. The pitch blackness enveloped her, and dizziness made her stomach roil.

The air around her was hot and suffocating. She struggled to get enough air through her nose, but panic had her hyperventilating. There was little oxygen in each panicked breath. Sweat rolled down her face and into her eyes and mingled with tears.

Lord, please help me.

She felt something light hit her from above.

Dirt! He was burying her alive!

Air! I’ve got to have air!

She struggled against the plastic and knew it only made things worse. The more she struggled, the more oxygen she used up. When she stopped struggling she immediately felt sleepy. Being sleepy was the last stage before death, wasn’t it?

God please help me.
She tried to poke through the plastic with her fingernails. It was too tough. She tried kicking with her feet, but the bag was too large. Her feet weren’t touching the bottom. She felt the heaviness of the dirt as Shane threw more in on top of her.

Was this the end?

Thoughts of Daniel and their life together flashed through her head, and a great sadness filled her heart. At least she knew when she woke up, she’d be in heaven, and Daniel would eventually meet her there. She felt so sleepy. If she could rest a moment, she might be able to think of a way to save herself. She’d shut her eyes and rest—just for a minute. Marti closed her eyes and remembered no more.

SEVENTY-FOUR

“WE’VE LOCATED THE SUV, SIR.”

The radio in the police cruiser blared out the good news. Daniel’s heart breathed a tentative sigh of relief.

“Do you see anyone around?”

Brent’s voice was steady and calm. How could he be calm at a time like this?

“It looks like Mr. Duke might be digging up his wife’s grave.”

A stab of pain pierced Daniel’s heart. Had he killed Marti already and was burying her body?

“Don’t let him see you. Fan out. Surround the area and wait until we get there. Turn your radios down so he won’t hear.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Dispatch. Get Richard out here now and EMS.”

“Ten-four.”

Daniel turned to Brent. “She has to be alive.”

Brent didn’t answer. His mouth formed a tight line.

Daniel splayed hands on the dash. His knuckles turned white with the pressure. “She has to be alive, Lord, please let her be alive.”

“Amen.” Brent jerked the steering wheel to the right. He stopped on the edge of the road and spoke into the radio. “Is everyone in position?”

“Yes, sir. Tailor and Camden have positions in the back, and Don and I are on each side of the gravesite.”

“Okay. We’re coming in.”

Brent plowed forward with sirens blaring. He slid the car to a stop, parallel to the gravesite.

Each policeman around the cemetery flashed spotlights at the grave and bathed the area with light. Daniel saw Shane squint at the police cruiser and take off at a run.

When he saw he was surrounded, he slid to a stop between two tall headstones.

Brent and Daniel slid out of the driver’s side door and crouched behind the vehicle. Brent reached into the cruiser, pressed a button, and picked up the microphone. “Shane Duke. Throw out your weapons and come out with your hands in the air.” His voice boomed across the cemetery.

Daniel waited. Before Brent could say more, two shots rang out. Daniel ducked but at the same time heard the impact in the trees overhead.

The scanner blared. “Should we engage, sir?”

“Hold your fire. He shot into the air.” Brent peeked over the top of the car but stayed hidden behind the vehicle.