Abduction (39 page)

Fleming shot
him a look. “Are you nuts?”

“No. This is
another rabbit trail. Up ahead, we’re going to find that he cut off the road
and went through the woods. By the time we follow it all the way around, it may
be too late. Turn around.”

Fleming
shrugged and grabbed the radio. “Everyone stop and turn around. Go back out the
way we came.”

#

Cliff Maren
pulled his fishing rod and tackle box out of the bed of his pickup and slammed
the tailgate. Carrying them, along with a small folding stool and a thermos, he
made his way down the bank to the river.

When he got to
his favorite fishing spot, he set everything down and popped open his stool. He
sat, poured himself a cup of coffee, and opened his tackle box. He fingered
through his favorite lures and settled on the one he wanted.

Attaching
lures was a delicate art. He took his time, taking pleasure in every step of
the process. His fishing rod was state-of-the-art, a birthday gift from his
wife, who knew he’d been coveting it. It felt like an extension of his own arm
as he swung back and then let the line fly out over the water.

He picked up
his coffee and took a sip. He was a patient man and didn’t mind studying the
trees, the bushes, the birds, and the river itself. He knew this piece of land
almost better than he knew his own backyard.

As his steady
gaze drifted, following a squirrel, he noticed a strange blue object on the
ground near the base of a tree. Something wasn’t right.

He set down his coffee, carefully propped his rod
against the stool, and walked over to see what it was. Stooping down, he
reached
for it.
A suit coat.

With a
furrowed brow, he stood up. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something
else. All the color drained from his face.

A hand, pale
blue and lifeless, was sticking up out of the water.

#

He pushed Zoe again, this time up the narrow
wooden staircase. When she saw the double doors above her, she realized she was
in a storm cellar. They went through the doors and emerged in a small clearing
at the edge of the woods. She saw a small cabin not far away.

It looked
deserted.
Of course it was. He wasn’t stupid enough to bring them to a place
where anyone could hear her scream.

W
ith a shove, he flipped the wooden doors closed.
One slammed shut, but the other jammed on its rusty hinges. He shoved at it.
Cursed.

The sound of distant car engines broke into the
quiet. He grabbed some loose brush and tried to cover the opening. Then he
pushed her forward again, this time toward the woods. “Where are we going?”

“For a walk.
Move!”

Zoe felt her heart racing. Her mouth was dry.
This
was it. No cavalry. No second chance. No fairy tale hero in a white hat to ride
to her rescue.
Death had never been more real to Zoe than at this moment.
She was going to die. He was going to strangle her, just as he had all those
little girls, and then he was going to toss her in a grave and walk away.

Oh, God,
please don’t let this happen. I don’t want to die. And help my mom. God, where
are You?

#

The caravan of
law enforcement vehicles drove back the way they’d
come. One by one, the cars passed the cabin and headed back to
ward
the main road.

As Fleming
drove, JJ glanced out the window—then whipped his head and stared. “Stop!”

Before the car
came to a full stop, JJ flung open the door and leaped out.

The cellar
door!
It had been closed. Now one door was open. He had been there the
whole time. Right under their noses and they’d walked right past him.

Son of a
swamp rat.

“What is it,
JJ?”

He pointed at the cellar door. “That wasn’t open
when we drove away.”

“How did we
miss this?” Fleming snarled.

“It was
covered with branches and vines.” Donnie picked up a vine and tossed it aside
in disgust. “Blended right in.”

Fleming called
everyone back to the cabin. JJ took his gun out of the holster. Donnie followed
suit. The two men quickly entered the cellar.

“She’s been
here,” JJ said as he picked up a trace of her perfume in the musty air.

Donnie pointed to an empty cot. “I think he’s taken
her out of here.”

JJ nodded and then jerked his head in the
direction of a closed door. Donnie nodded. It would be just like the guy to be
hiding right under their noses. This time, they weren’t going to overlook
anything.

JJ turned the
knob slowly and then shoved the door open. Donnie jumped through, gun drawn.
Denise Shefford stared at him with wide eyes, her face white with fear.

“Mrs.
Shefford?”

Donnie knelt
down and pulled the duct tape carefully off her mouth. “You okay?”

She nodded,
swallowing hard. “Zoe. He took her.”

“Where?”

She shook her
head.

“How long?” JJ
asked.

She tried to
shrug, looking despondent. “I don’t know. Five minutes. Maybe longer.”

JJ stood up.
“I’ll send someone down here to take care of you. I’m going after Zoe.”

“I’m right
behind you.”

JJ grabbed Matt as he climbed out of one of the
cars. “Mrs. Shefford is in the cellar. Get an ambulance. And take her some
water.”

“On it.”

JJ started
frantically searching for footprints, scraps of clothing—anything that would
tell him which direction he’d taken Zoe.

Donnie emerged
from the cellar a moment later. JJ waved him over to the edge of the woods. “Do
these look fresh to you?”

Donnie knelt
down. “Hard to tell with the tracks, but this broken branch is recent.” He
stood and drew his weapon. “Hold on one second.”

Donnie jogged over to Fleming, and JJ saw him
talking, pointing toward JJ; Fleming nodded. Then Donnie ran back over.
“They’ll be right behind us. Fleming’s going to set up a sweep. Let’s go.”

JJ led the
way, following tracks, broken branches, and bent grass as best he could. They
traveled deeper into the woods. Three minutes stretched to five. JJ could feel
the sands of Zoe’s hourglass running out. Suddenly Donnie reached out and
grabbed his arm, stopping him in mid-stride.

Then JJ heard
it.

Voices.

One male. One
female.

Zoe!

He started to
move forward, but Donnie shook his head. He pointed to the left and indicated
that he’d swing to the right. JJ acknowledged the instruction and then moved
quietly to the left.

#

“Don’t do
this,” Zoe pleaded as he untied her wrists.

“Are you going
to beg now? Oh, good. I love it when they beg. Makes me feel all warm and
fuzzy.” The dry tone in his voice was dispassionate as he wrapped the rope
around her neck.

He tightened
the rope and she went up on her toes to ease the pressure. “Don’t,” she gasped.

“Oh, but I
have to. We mustn’t leave Amy out here alone. You do want to be with her, don’t
you?”

“She’s. .
.not. . .here,” Zoe whispered roughly, trying to breathe and talk at the same
time. It was difficult. It was almost impossible. She felt her head begin to
spin.

“Oh, but she
is. Don’t you recognize this place?” He pointed to the far end of the field,
barely visible to her. “Way over there is where you found Gina. And here, right
here, is where Amy is.”

Amy. She’d been so close. Her precious psychic
gift. It was to bring Amy home. Amy had been right here while Zoe hadn’t been
able to pick up a single trace of her. What good had the gift been after all?
It had brought nothing but heartache and misery to all it touched.

Zoe felt the tears slip through her lids and run
down her cheeks.

“Aw, now,
don’t cry. Amy can’t see your tears, and,” his voice grew harsh, “I really
don’t care.”

She clawed at
the rope, but it was too tight. There were no more words now. Spots danced
before her eyes, and she grew lightheaded. There was a roaring in her ears, and
she could no longer hear anything he was saying to her.

This was it.

She was dying.

There was no
more air.

No more life.

Okay, God. Take me, then, but save my mom.
Somehow, save my
mom.

The spots in front of her eyes faded as blackness
settled over her.
She knew her hands
had dropped, too heavy now for her to hold
up. The weight bore down on
her and she felt herself sinking. . . sinking. . .deeper into the inky black. .
. .

#

JJ couldn’t
get a clear shot. His heart was in his throat as he watched the man tighten the
rope and then watched Zoe’s struggles cease. He raced forward and nearly
screamed aloud when her knees went out from under her.

A shot cracked
through the silence, and the man whipped around. Donnie had missed, but the man
had turned, giving JJ all he needed. Now JJ had him. He stopped, lifted his
weapon, and pulled the trigger.

The gun jumped
in his hand.

The man jerked
as the shot hit him in the back.

JJ fired
again, hitting him in the thigh.

The man spun,
releasing Zoe. She dropped to the ground. And then everything seemed to move in
slow motion. The man staggered and turned toward JJ. The rope in his hands
slowly slid through his fingers and fell silently across Zoe’s arm.

JJ’s eyes
widened as he continued to approach cautiously.

It couldn’t
be!

The man went
to his knees, still staring at JJ. A smile began to curl up on his face. “You.
. .weren’t as dumb. . .as you looked.”

“Why? My God,
man, why?”

“It is. . .as
the scorpion. . .told the frog. . .my nature.”

And with a
heaved sigh, Ted Matthews collapsed at JJ’s feet.

chapter
33

Saturday, April 29

T
ripp
knelt down beside the body as Vivian started to zip the body bag closed. “Any
identification?”

Vivian handed
him the black leather purse. Water still dripped from it. He reached inside and
pulled out the wallet.

Looking from
the picture on the wallet to the body stiff in death, he frowned. “You know how
many people have been searching for you, Miss Bubeck?”

But Maryanne
Bubeck was in no condition to answer him. Or anyone else ever again.

#

JJ knelt down
and cradled Zoe’s upper body in his arms. Her head lolled lifelessly against
him. She was deathly pale, contrasting sharply with the violent red burn around
her throat.

“Don’t you
dare go and die on me, Zoe Shefford. I need you around to annoy me.”

Donnie skidded
to a halt next to them. He knelt down and placed two fingers on her neck.
“She’s alive, but her pulse is weak.” He keyed his mic. “I need an ambulance,
and I need it now! No, wait. Get a medivac chopper in here.”

JJ aimlessly
brushed Zoe’s hair from her face as he looked at the man who had nearly killed
her.
Ted Matthews.
How in the world had he missed that?

He reached up
with his free hand and wiped sweat from his face. It was one big case after
all. Harris had been right for all the wrong reasons. And JJ had been wrong.

He’d been
wrong. And it could cost Zoe Shefford her life.

Matt jogged
across the field. Fleming followed, trying without success to keep up.

Donnie reached
over and checked Ted Matthews’ pulse. “He’s alive. Nice shooting there, partner.”
Donnie slowly stood up.

Matt came to a
stop. “JJ? You okay?”

“Ted
Matthews,” he whispered, then raised his eyes to look at Matt. “It was Ted
Matthews.”

“The infant
baby kidnapping?” Fleming asked, huffing and puffing from running.

JJ nodded. “The baby’s father. It was all a smoke
screen. Part of the game. To keep me guessing and running in the wrong
direction.”

Donnie placed
his hand on JJ’s shoulder. “He fooled us all. You’re not to blame for any of
this.”

“We were too
late.”

Matt knelt, resting on his haunches, one hand on
the ground to keep his balance as he caught JJ’s eyes and held them. “We
weren’t too late, JJ. Zoe is alive. She’s going to be fine. Everyone’s going to
be fine.”

“Except for
Gina and Lisa and. . .”

Matt shook his
head, his face dark with emotion. “Don’t go there, JJ. We can’t afford to. We
stopped the monster from touching another child. We did our job.”

            #

Carlton Lyle
Livingston. Former Vietnam Veteran. Fifty-five years
old. Former resident of the V.A. Hospital in Richmond, Virginia. Carlton
had walked away one day and for four years lived as a homeless drunk, wandering
from city to city, trying to outrun his demons.

Instead of
outrunning them, he’d fallen victim to one.

Justus shook
his head in pity. “Sorry, pal. What did he do? Promise you a bottle? Some easy
cash if you went with him?”

Vivian signed
off on the chart and set it down. “The only family we could find was a sister
in Youngstown, Ohio. She’s going to come for the body and take it back for
burial.”

“Shame.”

“Yes, it is.”

Justus slowly
covered the face with a sheet. “Well, that mystery is solved. Now they just
have to find out who killed him and why.”

“In the
meantime, we just had another body come in. Looks like a drowning.”