Misty Lake: Book One in the Misty Lake Series (24 page)

When she didn’t reply, Richard continued. “Now you think you’re something special, living in this fancy house, letting your mutt run around on my property.”

Sam had forgotten Rigi was in the house until Richard mentioned her. She glanced at the dog and saw her standing stock-still, hackles raised, and a low growl emanating from her throat. Richard was ignoring her. Stay back, Rigi, she silently pleaded.

Richard continued his rant. “I suppose you and your crook of a grandfather thought it was pretty funny stealing the property from my dad. That was supposed to go to me, you know! I deserved it. I wasted all my summers here when I would have much rather been home with my friends, people who actually cared about me. But you had to take it all away from me, didn’t you? Didn’t you?” he shouted when Sam didn’t respond.

“I didn’t know anything about this place.” Sam choked the words out as Richard’s hand went around her throat.

“DON’T LIE TO ME!” he yelled. “Everyone thinks they can lie to me, take what’s mine and I’ll just let it all happen. Well, you’re all wrong. You’re going to pay.”

It was obvious he was unstable, most likely drunk as well, and Sam was terrified. She didn’t know how to deal with him, didn’t know what to expect from him. Riley should be arriving within the hour. Would he be able to help? Did she have that much time?

Before she could figure out how to respond to Richard, she caught sight of Rigi out of the corner of her eye. Upset by the yelling and knowing Sam was in danger, the dog lunged. Her jaw clamped around Richard’s arm. He screamed in pain as he swung the arm holding the gun and kicked his leg.

Sam watched, horrified, as his booted foot caught Rigi in the midsection and the gun connected with her head. The dog’s limp body slid across the wood floor, crashing into the wall where she remained, motionless.

“Nooo,” Sam wailed. She lashed out at Richard, desperate to get to her dog.

In a rage, Richard swung blindly at Sam, catching her on the side of the head. Stars danced in front of her eyes as she staggered, only staying on her feet because Richard still maintained his grip around her neck with his other hand.

“Sit!” he bellowed as he pushed Sam toward a chair. He kept the gun pointed in her direction with a shaky hand as he looked at the bloody wound Rigi had left on his forearm. He grabbed a dishtowel and wrapped it around his arm, swearing as he did so. Then he reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out a bottle, and drank deeply.

Sam fell into the chair, blinking and trying to clear the fog. She gingerly touched her head and felt a very tender bump already forming. When she gave a little moan, Richard seemed to remember she was there and snarled at her, “Shut up and let me think.” He found another dishtowel and tied Sam’s hands behind her back and to the chair.

23

Zach waited impatiently, tapping his fingers on the dashboard of Sam’s car as he stared at the house willing her to hurry. After five minutes he couldn’t sit any longer and ran for the house. The front door was still standing open and he was just about to step inside and call out when he heard a man’s voice say cruelly, “Shut up and let me think.”

Zach stopped in his tracks, knowing something wasn’t right. He quietly stepped back out of sight and listened. When he didn’t immediately hear anything more he dropped to his hands and knees and crawled along the deck until he was under a large window. Very slowly he inched up until he could just peek over the edge of the window. He saw Sam being roughly tied to a chair then the man point a gun at her head and laugh.

Silently, Zach dropped back down to the deck. Moving slowly, trying not to make any noise, he moved further down the deck to the side of the house where he knew he’d be out of sight as long as the man stayed with Sam in the kitchen. When he got to the yard he ran as fast as he could for the trees. Once he was deep enough into the woods that he was certain he was out of sight, he fell to the ground and tried to catch his breath.

He had to get back to Chelsea, he’d been gone too long already, but he couldn’t leave without trying to help. He still had Sheriff McCabe’s card in his wallet. He looked at it, deliberating. He was afraid if the sheriff found him here it would give him more reason to think he’d been the one responsible for the vandalism. He’d arrest him or, at the least, send him back to camp. If he told him about Chelsea, the sheriff would want to send an ambulance. Knowing he had to make a quick decision in order to help both Chelsea and Ms. Taylor, he dialed the sheriff’s cell phone.

“Sheriff McCabe.” The sheriff’s voice crackled in Zach’s ear, the reception cutting in and out.

“Sheriff McCabe, this is Zach Fields,” Zach said as he moved back closer to the house hoping for a better signal.

“Who…not clear…”

Zach tried again. “Sheriff, it’s Zach Fields from Project Strong Start. I’m at Ms. Taylor’s house.”

Jake had been on hold waiting to speak with an officer in Minneapolis familiar with Zach’s history hoping to get some idea of where he may have gone when his cell phone buzzed. Not recognizing the number but seeing the Twin Cities area code, he had answered. Now, he was struggling to make out what the person on the other end of the line was saying. The connection was terrible but Jake was sure the caller identified himself as Zach Fields and Jake was relieved to hear from the boy and to know he was okay.

“Zach, where are you?” Jake tried again.

The connection improved and he was fairly certain he heard Zach say he was at Sam’s house. Jake was on his feet and out the door, yelling to his assistant to get backup out to Sam’s. Jake couldn’t make sense out of the call. Was Zach calling to brag after hurting Sam? Was he giving the police some kind of warning?

“Zach, tell me what’s going on,” Jake said in a steady voice.

“Some guy’s got Ms. Taylor. He has a gun,” the boy said slowly, obviously also frustrated with the poor connection.

This time Jake heard him clearly. Zach was calling to try to help Sam, not hurt her. “Okay, Zach, listen to me.” When Zach was silent Jake said again, “Zach, are you listening?”

“Yes, yes,” the boy whispered.

“Do you know who the man is?”

“No, I’ve never seen him before.”

“Did he see you?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Where does he have Sam…Ms. Taylor?”

“They’re in the house, in the kitchen. I think he tied her to a chair. He has a gun.”

Jake didn’t understand Zach’s involvement or why he was calling, but there wasn’t time for too many questions. He needed to keep the boy safe and get to Sam.

“Okay, Zach, I want you to stay back, don’t let him see you. I’m on my way, I’ll be there in a few minutes. I’m going to leave my car down the road a ways, I don’t want him to see or hear the car. You have to stay out of sight, don’t try to come to me. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Can you see the house from where you are?”

“Yeah, most of it.”

“Stay back, but if you can, watch the house. Let me know if you see anyone come out.”

“Okay.”

“Stay on the line, Zach. I need to radio in so I’m going to set my phone down for a minute but I’m not hanging up.”

Zach could hear him talking, explaining the situation, and telling the others to come in quiet. He couldn’t see movement anywhere around the house or the yard. Zach was getting more worried about Chelsea by the minute. He had to get back to her, had to bring help. He realized the sheriff was talking to him again.

“Zach? Are you still there?”

“Yes.”

“I’m almost there, I’m going to park my car in a minute. When I do, I have to hang up. You need to stay where you are and let me take care of things. Stay out of sight,” Jake repeated, hoping the boy would listen.

Zach listened but knew he couldn’t do what Sheriff McCabe asked. He needed to get to him, to tell him about Chelsea, and to get her some help. He disconnected the call without answering and began to move through the woods towards the road.

The phone went dead. Frustrated that he hadn’t gotten a response, he could only hope the call had dropped due to the spotty service and that it hadn’t been Zach’s decision to hang up on him. He radioed quickly to Marc to see how far out he was then quietly exited his car and started making his way towards Sam’s house.

Jake saw Zach before Zach saw Jake. The boy hadn’t listened. Jake watched as Zach scrambled down the road, crouched and looking over his shoulder. Jake got closer then called to Zach.

Zach’s head spun around, his eyes darting back and forth until he spotted Jake. Jake held up a hand indicating Zach should stay where he was and closed the distance between the two.

“I told you to stay put,” Jake said. “What are you doing here?”

“I need help,” Zach began. “I ran away from camp because—”

Jake interrupted. “Zach, we have to talk about this later. I need to see what’s going on in the house. Stay here,” he ordered.

As Jake started moving, Zach reached out and grabbed his arm. “No!” he said forcefully. “You need to listen. I have to get help to my girlfriend. She’s having a baby. Right now.”

Jake saw the fear and desperation in the boy’s eyes. Struggling for calm he asked, “Where is she? Isn’t there anyone with her?”

“She’s in a cabin not far away but she’s alone. She needs help right now!”

“All I can do right now is call it in, try to get an ambulance to her. Do you have an address?”

“No, I don’t know the address. I just know how to get there.”

“Zach, I can’t leave here. Wait for Marc—Deputy Collins—he should be here any minute. If you can give him directions to the cabin he can call for help.”

“But—” Zach argued.

“Zach, I’m sorry. I can’t do anything else right now. Please, stay here and wait.” With that, Jake took off at a run.

Richard had been pacing, muttering under his breath about getting back what was his, but making little sense. Sam was frightened. Her arms ached from being pulled and tied tightly behind the chair. Rigi still hadn’t moved and Sam was sick with worry. Her cell phone had vibrated a few times with incoming calls. Thankfully Richard hadn’t noticed. Sam prayed that whoever was trying to call would realize something was wrong when she didn’t answer.

Suddenly, Richard slammed a fist on the table in front of Sam. “This is what’s going to happen. You’re going to come with me. I have a friend in St. Paul who is a lawyer. He’s going to draw up some papers giving my land back to me. You’re going to sign them. Then you’re going to add in a little bonus for all my pain and suffering. Fifty thousand dollars should do the trick.”

He was calculating in his head as he again tipped the bottle to his lips. He’d get a tidy sum when he sold the property. That would take some time but the fifty thousand would work to hold off the thugs demanding money now. But, maybe if he went to the track, made a few sure bets, that fifty thousand would turn into a lot more.

Sam looked at him, waiting for him to say or do something. He made his demand then seemed to withdraw into his own thoughts. She became more and more convinced he was unstable. What he was suggesting was insane. He’d never get away with it. She’d only have to claim she signed the papers under duress. Nothing he forced her to sign would ever hold up in court. Did he really believe it would work? she wondered. Or, did he plan to kill her once the papers were signed, thinking if she wasn’t there to argue he’d get away with everything? 

“Get your purse, your identification, whatever bank papers you need to withdraw money. We’re going to get out of here before anyone shows up.” He pulled a knife from his pocket and started to hack away at the towel binding her to the chair. He swung the knife carelessly and Sam was all but certain he would cut her.

Somehow he managed to free her after a couple minutes then pulled her roughly to her feet. Her arms tingled and she flexed her fingers trying to get feeling back. Holding tightly to one arm and keeping the gun pointed at her, Richard pushed her and demanded she get her things.

Jake saw the man shove Sam forward and yell at her to get her purse then watched as he staggered slightly following Sam through the kitchen. He was injured or impaired in some way, Jake figured. It could be an advantage if his reflexes were dulled, but he knew it could also be an incredible disadvantage if the man was under the influence and had a distorted view of his abilities and of the situation.

Stepping slowly and carefully into the kitchen, Jake leveled his gun at the man. “Police! Freeze!” he said forcefully but calmly.

Richard spun around at the words, waving his gun out in front of him. He lost his grip on Sam as he stumbled and fell heavily into the table.

Sam’s relief at hearing Jake’s voice was incredible. She looked to see Jake standing still, feet slightly apart, and his gun pointed at Richard. When she felt Richard’s hand slip from her arm she twisted quickly to put some distance between them. She was just about out of reach when Richard tripped and fell against the table, pinning her between the table and the wall. In a move she wouldn’t have thought him capable of making, Richard’s hand darted out and grabbed Sam’s ankle causing her to crash to the floor.

He was next to her in a flash, wrapping an arm around her neck and pressing the gun to her temple. His hands were unsteady, his breathing shallow and rapid.

“Drop the gun,” Jake demanded. “Let her go.”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Richard answered. “You’re going to drop
your
gun and let us leave.”

“I’ll let you leave once you let her go.”

Sam watched Jake, sure and steady, his eyes never leaving Richard’s.

“No can do, Sheriff. She needs to come with me.” His words slurred and he swayed slightly.

Jake saw the nearly empty bottle on the table, watched the man struggle to focus, and knew the risk of him acting irrationally or doing something unintentionally was great. Jake took a step forward and said again, “Drop the gun. Don’t do something you’ll regret.”

“I won’t regret anything when I have back what’s mine!” Richard shouted.

“So far you haven’t hurt anyone. Don’t turn this into something more serious. Let her go, we’ll talk, and we’ll get things figured out.” Jake was keeping his voice soft and steady hoping to calm the man, to get him to see reason.

“No. She’s coming with me. Now, out of my way.”

Richard was struggling to his feet, keeping his grip on Sam and the gun pointed at her. As Sam was pulled up, she caught sight of Rigi stirring in the corner. Stay down, she silently begged.

Richard was up, taking a couple shuffling steps toward the door when the dog got to her feet and let out a loud, menacing bark. The shock was enough to cause Richard to turn to the sound and it was all the opening Jake needed. He was on top of Richard and had the gun out of his hand before Richard knew what happened.

Sam scrambled out of the way and towards the dog. As she wrapped her arms around Rigi, the dog licked her face and whined. “Oh, sweetie,” Sam soothed, petting her and trying to keep her calm.

Jake had Richard handcuffed and was already leading him out of the house. Marc and Fred had arrived and met Jake on the lawn.

“Read him his rights and get him out of here,” Jake said, handing Richard over to his deputies. He was just ready to turn back to the house to check on Sam when he heard his name.

“Jake! What’s wrong? What happened?” It was Karen, with Joe trying to hold her back, running across the yard. “Is Sam okay? I was trying to call her, she didn’t answer.” Karen was nearly hysterical.

“I think she’s fine, I’m just going back in to check on her. Come on,” he said, deciding that having a nurse with him was a good idea.

They found Sam still on the floor holding the dog. She was crying and when she saw them begged, “Please help me get her up. She’s hurt, I need to get her to a vet.”