Splintered (23 page)

As she walked toward her bus stop, Maddy noticed movement to her right. Goose bumps popped out on her arms. She swung around to see what had caught her eye—only old Miss Addie staring at her from behind the curtains.

Why is that old bat just standing there in the dark, looking out at the street? It’s so creepy.

Maddy exhaled and continued walking toward her bus stop. She continued thinking about her outfit choices until she finally made a decision. The pale yellow—

Knowing she’d be unable to fight her way back to sleep, Lily got up and started the coffee pot. She was still thinking about her conversation with Maddy.

How long has it been since I’ve heard those three words—I love you—come out of her mouth?

A simple sentiment, but one she’d taken for granted. She’d only missed it once her daughter had stopped saying it.

Perhaps the worst is behind us. Maybe all Maddy needs is to spend time with—

Lily turned her head at the sound of squealing tires. She rubbed the goose bumps on her forearms and walked over to the front window, pushing aside the sheer curtains. Nothing looked amiss.

Then she heard the rumble of a diesel engine. “Crap. I bet Maddy forgot to roll the trash can to the curb.” Afraid she was going to miss the garbage truck yet again, she strained her head, trying to see down the street. A streak of yellow barreled by. It was only the bus.

Good, there’s still time.

She slipped on her pink robe and sandals. After she bagged the overflowing trash sitting in the pantry, she headed out the front door. Normally, the garbage can sat in the garage, but when the battery had died in the automatic door opener, Lily had started leaving it outside. She made another mental note to swing by Walmart before work and pick up a new one. She knew she’d be too wiped out afterward to do it.

Might as well make the most out of getting up early.

As she tugged the one-wheeled trash can to the curb, she watched the garage door of her neighbor’s house across the street open. The light illuminated Marie Delacroix coming out in her housecoat. The woman shuffled to the end of her driveway and grabbed her garbage can.

“Looks like you’re a day late,” she said as she began wheeling the container back toward her house.

“What?” Lily asked.

Marie looked over her shoulder. “Garbage day was yesterday, sweetie. You missed it.”

Lily looked to her right, then her left. None of her neighbors’ trash cans were out. “Guess you’re right. Thanks.”

Embarrassed, Lily turned around. She pulled the container back up her driveway and gave a look down the street toward Maddy’s bus stop. She wasn’t there.

Of course she’s not there, dummy. The bus just picked her up.

She blamed the new crop of goose bumps on her arms on the scraping noise of the garbage can scooting along the concrete driveway.

“Drive, dammit. Drive!” Hank shouted.

The van squealed away from the curb, lurching to the left and sending Hank rolling onto his back. The girl lay right where he’d left her after knocking her head against the van floor to render her unconscious.

He pulled himself up into a squatting position and looked out the window. They’d already turned off Maddy Eastin’s street. “Did you do it how I told you?”

“Yeah,” Daniel answered. “I drove into the other lane so the camera wouldn’t pick me up. I did real good. Didn’t I, Hank?”

“You sure did, Small Fry. Now remember, drop your speed. We don’t want to take the chance of getting pulled over.”

“Got it.”

Hank hated pulling Daniel into his plan, but it was the only option. He couldn’t grab the girl and drive the van at the same time. During another reconnaissance mission in the girl’s neighborhood yesterday afternoon, the time when students were released from high school, he quickly realized that time of day would be too busy. Stay-at-home moms were outside watching little ones ride bikes, and older folks leisurely sat on their porches catnapping their day away.

He’d waited for Maddy to return home, but he wasn’t the only one. A woman sat down on the girl’s front steps about ten minutes before she arrived. The blazer in the sweltering September heat, the bulge at her waistline—he’d instantly pegged the woman for a cop. He figured she was there to discuss the false accusation Maddy had made. But when she’d put an arm around her, Hank realized they had a closer relationship.

He’d followed them to the mall, but after they parked he left for home. He needed to finish the preparations for Maddy’s stay. Different scenarios about the best way to grab her had been rolling around in his head since he’d seen her on the news. He knew those few precious morning minutes between when the girl left her house and the time the bus stopped were optimal. If someone happened to see it all go down, who would believe the eyewitness when the details would so closely resemble Maddy’s made-up abduction story? The plan was genius.

Mine. She’s all mine now.

He looked down at Maddy’s angelic face as she slumped against the van wall. He brushed away the few strands of hair covering her forehead.

Like clockwork, the plan had unfolded exactly as he’d envisioned. He thought back through each step, congratulating himself on a plan well executed. He’d sat in the van until he knew the moment was right, like a wolf down on all fours waiting to ambush his prey. Maddy had been running a couple of minutes late. Hank had sat waiting, wondering if he’d have to postpone. The last thing he wanted was a school bus full of witnesses. But lady luck had once again shined down on him and Maddy had appeared.

She was the only one moving outside on that dark Tuesday morning. Well, except the Fry brothers. Daniel had quietly inched the van up behind the girl. She didn’t even notice. Didn’t make a peep as Hank jumped out the already opened side door. He had clamped his hand around her mouth before pulling her inside. Then he’d smashed her head down on the van’s floor. She was out before he’d even closed the door. Hank had grabbed each of her limp wrists and handcuffed them around a metal pole bolted to the interior of the van wall. He ripped off a couple of inches of duct tape and smoothed it over her mouth.

After a few minutes of admiring his prize catch—and once he was satisfied she couldn’t escape—Hank climbed into the passenger seat. He buckled up but kept glancing back at his new guest. Maddy was the only thing in the back of the van. He’d already cleaned it out, not wanting to take the chance she’d be able to grab a tool and hurt one of them.

He smiled, thinking how proud his dad would’ve been. He could hear his old man now. “You have to be meticulous in your planning, son. Stay disciplined, focused, and keep your eye on the details.” Hank had listened then, and he had gotten the job done now.

“Is she okay?” Daniel had a worried look on his face. “You didn’t hit her too hard, did ya?”

“No, just a smack to keep her quiet. She’ll be fine. Now keep your eyes on the road.”

Hank wasn’t too worried about Daniel’s driving. He’d been doing it since he was eighteen. Driving wasn’t the problem; it was the directions that got him confused. The first few times Daniel had driven alone after getting his license, he’d called Hank in a panic, not knowing how to find his way home.

In preparation for today, Hank had gone over the map with Daniel dozens of times. He’d told him to stay off the main roads in order to remain hidden from the ever-seeing eyes of the traffic cameras. It was a trade-off—it meant more time riding in the van, but fewer chances of the cops being able to follow their route home.

Daniel idled at the next stop sign indecisively. Then he turned left instead of right. Hank calmly told him to take a right at the next stop sign. The boy had reached his capacity for remembering the directions, so Hank continued telling him where to turn after that.

Hank felt guilty for having concocted a story about why they took Maddy, but it was the only way he could think of to get Daniel’s buy-in. The previous morning, before Daniel went to work, Hank had knocked on his bedroom door. Daniel was still lying in bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“Can I talk to you about something, Daniel?”

“What’s up?”

“You want a girlfriend, don’t ya?”

Daniel had sat up in his bed. His Spiderman sheets fell away from him, bunching up in his lap. “Yeah, I sure do.”

“I know you’ve had trouble finding a girl. Trust me. I know how difficult it is to meet the right one. The problem with all the girls our own age is that they’re jaded—”

Daniel squinted, furrowing his brow.

“Jaded is like . . . oh, never mind.” Hank walked over and sat next to Daniel on the bed. “Girls your age are looking for guys who have important jobs, lots of money in the bank, and a nice set of wheels.”

“But Hank,” Daniel whined, “I don’t have any of that. How am I ever gonna get a girl?”

“Well, that’s what I’ve been thinking about. You can always count on me to have a good idea, right?”

“Yeah!”

“We should find someone younger for you. Someone who’s not into all that material stuff. You remember what Dad used to say? ‘A girl’s gotta be trained at an early age to learn how to properly serve a man.’”

Daniel nodded.

“What if I can find a young girl that we can train? Teach her how to be a well-behaved girlfriend?”

“That sounds good.” Daniel cocked his head to the side. “But who?”

“There’s this girl I know. She keeps telling me how miserable she is. Her dad up and walked out on her, and now she’s stuck with a mom who beats her. The girl wants to run away, but she doesn’t have anywhere to go.”

“What if she came to live with us? Can she, Hank? Can she?”

“Slow down, Daniel. Do you think that’s a good idea? I mean, where would she sleep?” “She can have my room, Hank. I’ll sleep on the couch. I don’t mind.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. I mean, if her mom’s hitting her, she needs a safe place. She’d be safe here with us, right?”

When the sound of moaning emerged from the back of the van, Hank shook his head to bring himself back to the present and turned to look behind his seat.

“She sounds hurt,” Daniel said. “Why’d ya have to hit her so hard? Couldn’t we have just met up with her somewhere?”

“Remember, I already told you. She’s afraid of her mother. We had to make it look like someone took her.”

Daniel scratched his head. “Won’t the police think we did something wrong?”

“If the police ask, the girl will tell them it’s all pretend. Anyway, don’t worry, we won’t get caught.”

“Can you at least take the handcuffs off her? We’re almost home.”

“We have to make it look real, don’t we?”

Daniel shrugged.

“Quit asking so many questions, Daniel. You’re the one who wants a girlfriend. I’m doing all of this for you.”

The girl’s moans grew louder. Then they turned into whimpers. Hank looked over his shoulder again, staring as Maddy tried to move but was stopped by the handcuffs. She rattled them back and forth, trying to break free. He watched every emotion she felt as they crossed her face. Confusion, pain, concern. And then came his favorite—terror.

This can’t be happening!

Through bleary, tear-filled eyes, Maddy scanned her surroundings. An empty vehicle. Large, like a van. All the back windows were covered with taped-down black trash bags. The only light streaming in came from the front window. There were two men. A driver and someone in the passenger’s seat.

Why is this happening to me?

Panic welled up inside her. Maddy’s stomach lurched. She forced the bile back down once she realized the tape covering her mouth would block its exit. She shook her arms, trying to move them from their position over her head.

The man in the passenger seat turned to look back at her. She squirmed under his penetrating stare and yanked her wrists down harder. The metal handcuffs dug into her skin, but she ignored the pain. It wasn’t the first time her skin had been cut, afer all. She continued to twist and turn her wrists, trying to free them.

Dammit!

Maddy let out a cry of frustration that only sounded like a muffled groan. Even with the slickness of blood now coating the metal, the handcuffs were too tight. Heavy, short bursts of inhales and exhales passed through her nose. Her chest felt like it was going to explode, like her heart would literally shoot through her chest any minute.

Maddy knew if she didn’t slow down her breathing, she’d hyperventilate.

Breathe. Breathe.

She ignored the blood trickling down her forearms and concentrated. The exertion of all the movement made her head ache more. The throbbing pain pulsed in time with her rapid heartbeat.

How did I get here?

Maddy remembered leaving her house, running late for the bus. Someone had grabbed her from behind. She’d been thrown down and the back of her head knocked hard against something. Then everything went dark.

A sinking feeling of déjà vu settled in.

My made-up story. It’s playing out this very minute. But why? Is this your idea of a joke, God? Is this some kind of karma? Because if so, it’s just cruel!

When the van came to a hard stop, Maddy lurched forward and the handcuffs clanked against the pole.

“Go unlock the front door to the house,” the guy in the passenger seat said to the driver as he got out of the vehicle.

The van’s side door slid open. Bright sunlight framed the man standing in front of her. Her breathing accelerated again. She couldn’t pull in enough air. The man moved his hands forward, and when she felt his callused fingers touch her legs, she started kicking. Strong fingers grabbed her ankles, pinning them to the floor. The man took one of her feet and twisted it down so hard with the toes toward him, that Maddy thought he was trying to rip it off. Popping noises started sounding, and she knew if he pushed any harder, something would break. She squirmed, trying to beg him to stop, but the words were swallowed by the tape.

“We can do this the hard way,” the man said in a low, gravelly voice. “But I figure you’re in enough pain right now, what with your head. You wanna add a broken foot?”