New Growth (Spook Hills Trilogy Book 2) (25 page)

BOOK: New Growth (Spook Hills Trilogy Book 2)
12.24Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Cruze leaned forward and nodded, eager to learn about Julio’s
plan for a chance at a new life.
 

Chapter 23
 

Two days later with nothing new popping up
in
the Fuentes case, Steve and Ivy hopped in
the car for a shopping trip to Portland.
 
Hand-in-hand and feeling like two young sweethearts playing hooky from
high school, they left the parking garage and walked up to the Pendleton
store.
 
Together they picked out an
additional blanket for their bed, choosing one that was washable wool in a
muted blue plaid to fight off winter’s rare cold days, as well as a
blue wool
shirt for Steve.
 
From there they wandered around Pioneer
Place, exploring the shops in the downtown indoor mall and picking up
cappuccinos at the corner Starbucks near the exit.

Relishing their relaxed time together, they walked up the
long block to the Nordstrom store.
 
Together they browsed in the men’s department.
 
When Steve picked out a distinctive bold
plaid sports coat, Ivy said, “Buy that and people will think you stole a
blanket off a horse.”

Steve laughed and put it back, then pulled out another one
in a muted dark tan
wide
herringbone.
 
He would have never bought
the first one, but he wanted to see Ivy’s reaction.

“Better?”

“Definitely.
 
What
else are you getting?

“You know I love winter clothes – the wools, worsteds,
twills and tweeds hold their shape.
 
Gonna pick up some corduroy trousers, maybe a sweater vest.
 
Couple of striped shirts.”

“How about we split up?
 
I’ll go down to shoes and then over to makeup and fragrance.
 
You can meet me down there at
noon,
and we’ll toddle off somewhere for
lunch.
 
Text me if you’ll be late.”

When he took her hand and kissed it, Ivy leaned in to brush
his lips
with
hers and said.
 
“Hmm, let’s snuggle this afternoon when we
get home.”

 
 

Once
Steve
made his
choices and measurements were taken, he strolled back to the cosmetics
area.
 
At her height with her silvered
hair, Ivy should be easy to
spot,
but he
could not see her.
 
He
surveyed the displays of fragrances since
she favored the English scents from Jo Malone.
 
Not finding her, he wove around the makeup counters and headed to the
adjacent
shoe department.
 
No Ivy.
 
He dialed her cell, which rang and went to
voicemail
.
 

While his wife possessed a strong streak of independence,
she would not go wandering off without at least texting him.
 
He found his way to the women’s restroom and
called her name through the door.
 
With
no response, he buzzed her again.
 
Still
nothing.
 
His heart started beating
faster as he opened up an app on his iPhone to trace her by the coordinates of
her phone.

Damn.
 
Her position
was two blocks away heading south on Broadway.
 
She must be sneaking off to surprise him with a gift.
 

He walked out to the street and up two blocks tracking her
phone, which seemed to be stationary.
 
He
turned and checked the sidewalks around him, but no Ivy.
 
He ducked into two nearby
shops
but still did not find her.
 

Back on the street, he refreshed the application.
 
It again indicated his location.
 
After looking around, he spied a litter
basket
and his stomach did a flip.
 
He began digging through the trash until he
found her phone slid down the side.
 

No way would Ivy leave him of her own choice.
 
She would not toss away her phone.
 
He felt his throat tighten in panic.
 
Had his lovely Ivy been abducted?
 
Why?
 
Was the mob leader in California attempting to gain leverage in the
negotiations?
 
Were those nefarious
Fuentes up to a new trick?
 

Forcing back his panic as best he could, he swiveled around
in a full 360 then called Brian who answered on the second ring.
 

“Brian, grab Moll and get downtown.
 
Ivy disappeared!”

“What?
 
On my way with
Moll.
 
Where are you?”

“Two blocks south of Nordstrom’s on Broadway and Salmon,”
Steve said.

“We’re in the car and racing down.”

“I’m going to hang up and call the FBI office here and then
Mathew.”

Steve stood on the street, trying to keep his mind on the
calls he was making, but his heart was so panicked that it seemed to speed up
with each conversation he had.
 
After
about five minutes, Brian and Moll screeched up by the curb and Moll jumped
out.
 
An agent Steve recognized stopped
his car across the street and sprinted over.
 

Steve
debriefed the
three of them on the sequence of events.
  
From his phone, he emailed photos of Ivy and of Cruze and Annetta/Julio,
even though some hired had thugs likely carried out the abduction.
 

He doubted Ivy had a chance to use the weapon in her
purse.
 
What they might do to his darling
wife!
 
Will Ivy’s determination to
survive and her smarts keep
her safe?
 
The thought of his wife overpowered and held
at gunpoint frightened him to a depth he had never before experienced, taking
away his ability to think rationally and act quickly.
 

As if sensing his mental paralysis, the impromptu team he
assembled took over.
 
The FBI alerted the
police.
 
Brian,
Moll
and the agent went off to canvas surrounding shops and
hotels
while Steve was directed to return to
Nordstrom’s to talk to their security team.
 
Time ticked by.
 
Ivy could be
missing for as much as an hour.
 
The
longer the timeline, the less the likelihood of discovering her close by.
 

After alerting the Nordstrom security team, Steve walked out
and on a guess, jogged up to the Park Blocks, busy this time of day with
students and people strolling around.
 
If
the perps wanted to talk to her for whatever reason, they might leave her in a
park.
 
When he got a hunch, he needed to
follow it since his instincts tended to be right.
 
He strode around, checking benches and
peering behind the big trees, without catching a sign of his wife.
 

Never in his life was he seized by such
a dreadful
sense of alarm.
 
He pushed himself to stay focused on locating
Ivy, forcing back the panic that was making him hyperventilate.

 
 

Three miles away up in Forest Park near its abutment to the
city of Portland, Ivy’s back glued itself to a tree on a trail where she stared
at two men with pistols drawn on her.
 
Her legs trembled with
fright,
but
when she was shoved in a
limo,
she made a
decision to keep fear from ruling her head.
 

The men told her to stay put and started walking
backward
up the path to their car.
 
Fighting to control her stretched emotions,
Ivy mentally took snapshots of their faces to describe them later.
 
Up above on
the road’s
shoulder,
Julio waited.
 
In
appearance
he was quite like the photo the Bureau had produced with their aging
software.
 
She would never forget the
careful modulation of his
voice
as if it
were constrained from breaking into more melodious tones.
 
In front of her, the men reached a bend in
the track, turned and walked on uphill moving out of sight.
 

With a map of this part of the
long
forested park etched in her mind from
often walking
here with the corgis, Ivy decided which way to
head.
 
Down below a trail branched off to
the left, skirting along a little ridge to come out across from the Arboretum
office and store.
 
After a quick up
glance through the trees to be certain the men were not doubling back, she
turned downhill to reach the footpath she wanted.
 
A car started up and sped away too soon for
the
men
who just left her.
 
Julio must be departing in the limo, leaving
the second car for the two hooligans.
 
Ivy ran down to where she needed to turn, fearful the two men might
reappear.
 
Running in her low heels on
the mud-greased surface hurt her feet.
 
S
he thudded on, curling her toes to keep her
pumps on.
 

She made a sharp left, taking the little pathway as it ran
paralleling the road, though hidden from view.
 
As she followed its climb, she hoped the hoodlums were driving away from
her.
 
She supposed Julio was already
hurrying out of
town,
and she wondered if
Cruze drove the limo.
 

Even though burdened with three shopping bags, Ivy refused
to leave them in the woods.
 
With mud
squishing against her instep,
she
gripped
her insoles tighter as
she
ran.
 
Her sides heaved as she huffed up the incline,
glad of the high brush now screening her from the road above her and from the
Wildwood Trail behind her.
 
The next
hazardous point lay ahead when she emerged from the wooded hillside.
 

Ivy approached the end of the
brushy
expanse with caution.
 
She stopped and listened, glancing around.
 
Nothing moved except a squirrel scurrying to
a tree.
 
A
heavy
mist fell through the canopy of spruces and firs.
 
Even though her hair was becoming wet,
flipping up her hood would hamper her audible range and peripheral vision.
 

After lingering until her panting slowed, Ivy dashed through
the more open woods, emerging on a little lane, which she crossed at a run,
hustling into an open picnic area.
 
Sweeping her gaze around, she turned left to run up some stairs.
 
As she neared the road in front of the
Arboretum shop, she swung her head in both directions searching for the two
men, for their car and for the limo.
 
No
one skulked in either direction.
 
She
zipped across the road, ran the short distance to the shop, grabbed the door
handle and skidded inside.
 
The sales
clerk jerked his head around to her in astonishment.

“I need to use your phone,” Ivy said, coming to a stop but
still huffing hard.
 
“Two men are after
me.
 
Will you lock the door?”

The older man nodded and showed her the desk phone, snatched
his keys and locked the door, standing guard to one side and peeking out.
 
Ivy grasped the receiver and called Steve.

“Nielsen.”

Relief flowed through her on hearing his voice, “Steve,
Ivy.”

“Where are you?” Steve asked, his voice breaking from the
tension.
 
“Are you injured?”

“Shaken up, but I’m fine,” Ivy said, forcing away the surge
of tears coming into her eyes.
 
This was
not the moment to break down.

“What the hell happened?”

“I was taken for a bizarre drive with Julio pointing the
muzzle of a revolver at me.
 
I’m up at
the Arboretum Store and Visitor Center.
 
You remember where it is on Fairway in Forest Park?
 
We came here for a hike last winter.
 
Come get me and we can talk.”

“You sure you’re not harmed?” Steve asked again.

“Fine.
 
A strange hour
but I am fine.”

"Got to call the rescue party I organized.
 
Will dial you right back at this number.
 
Stay inside with the door secured."

Right after he came back on the line with her, Brian's SUV
slewed
at an angle to a stop out front.
 
Her
big
husband jumped out and ran to the door.
 
He barged into the shop and wrapped her into a big hug.
 
With the trauma over, Ivy found herself
trembling in his arms.
 
He let her cling
to him until she stopped shaking.
 

Once she regained her composure, Ivy said, “Two thugs dumped
me on the Wildwood Trail after walking me partway down it, shopping bags and
all.
 
They moved backward away from me,
keeping their guns pointed at me until they turned to walk up to the road.
 
Once they were out of sight, I ran down away
from them.
 
They had a black town
car.
 
J
ulio
rode in a limo.
 
I didn’t catch the
plates.
 
Someone I didn’t see was behind
the wheel of the limo.
 
Perhaps Cruze?”

BOOK: New Growth (Spook Hills Trilogy Book 2)
12.24Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

Shattered by C.J. Bishop
A French Affair by Katie Fforde
War Maid's Choice-ARC by David Weber
Summer on Kendall Farm by Shirley Hailstock
Dance With Me by Hazel Hughes
Olympic Dream by Matt Christopher, Karen Meyer