Stolen Innocents (The Shadow Series Book 2) (34 page)

“What is to stop me from calling the police right now?”

“Oh, Bernard. You’ve shown me all your secrets. Don’t you remember? I can easily show the police the bone yard that you created down in the mine, just under the Bone Tree. I can even expose our biggest secret.”

“You wouldn’t…” said Bernard in a fearful voice.

“Oh, but I would.”

As Angie glared at Bernard with a vicious glare, Bernard swallowed the saliva that had pooled in his mouth.

“Speak a word of this, and I’ll undo you before Catherine has the chance,” threatened Angie as she stormed out of Bernard Kendricks’ bedroom and life forever.

Chapter              25

June 20, 2000

Morrow Manor

Fox Hollow, PA

10:45 P.M.

Tristan woke to the sound of static. The harsh white noise was coming from the television and assaulting her ear drums with firm aggression. She rose from her pillow on the couch groggily, where she had fallen asleep while her father and boyfriend were watching
Rocky III
; a movie that she had watched more times than she would like to count. Tristan rubbed her eyes as her vision slowly returned after her cat nap. Jack and Cole lay sprawled out on their respective couches. The others had not returned yet. Aunt Bridgette was still at work. Uncle Frank was at the movies with Tommy, Blake and Shane. Liam and Adam had gone back to the precinct. Angus and Moira had left earlier that day for an evening in New York. Moira wanted to escape the heavy state of affairs in Elkhart and enjoy a nice dinner and a show with Angus. Meanwhile, Natalie was still at the diner. The house was eerily quiet and Tristan was the only one who was awake. She rose from the sofa and stretched her limbs which were sore from lying in one position for too long. It had gotten really dark and Tristan wondered what time it was. As she glanced at the wall clock, panic nearly struck her.

10:45… Cole should’ve left a half hour ago to pick up Aunt Bridgette and Natalie.

“Cole…” Tristan called as she shook her boyfriend’s foot. Cole groaned in protest and fell back asleep.

“Cole… Wake up…” Cole snored loudly as Tristan stared at him and rolled her eyes. She felt bad having to wake him up. After all, Jack and Joe were having him do a lot of pickups and drop-offs. It seemed unfair.

Surely I can manage a quick pick-up. Right? He probably won’t even notice I’m gone. I can’t just leave the girls stranded on Mountain Road. Not with a killer on the loose.

Jack would be furious when he found out that Tristan went to get Bridgette and Natalie on her own, but Tristan was sure that, with time, he would get over it. Tristan’s thoughts raced a mile a minute as she went into Frank’s gun cabinet and pulled out a revolver.

Just in case.

Tristan decided to bite the bullet and do what she felt was right. Poor Cole had been running all around, and Jack was exhausted himself. She was an adult now and she decided to make a last minute judgment call. As Tristan crossed the threshold of Morrow Manor, she glanced back at Cole and Jack’s sleeping faces and smiled.

***

“Where the hell is he?!” fumed Bridgette as she looked at her wrist watch. The time was 11:20 P.M. and Cole had not arrived yet. She was waiting in the lobby of Grier Mountain Medical Center with a worried look on her face. Cole was usually so dependable. Bridgette hoped that nothing was wrong.

Carla, a nurse from the Pediatric unit, said to Bridgette, “Hey, isn’t that your brother’s truck?”

Bridgette’s eyes perked up to the parking lot and sure enough it was Jack’s truck pulling up. She looked perplexed as she looked at the driver though, because it definitely wasn’t Jack or Cole behind the wheel.

“Alright, Carla… Have a good night. Be safe,” Bridgette urged as she bid her colleague adieu.

Bridgette swung the passenger side door of Jack’s truck open as she gave Tristan a look that was peppered with both bewilderment and amusement.

“How on earth did you get past your old man?” asked Bridgette with a bewildered look on her face.

“Both him and Cole fell asleep. Uncle Frank is still out with the boys… It was either I come or you spend the night here.”

“I appreciate it. Let’s go grab Natalie and get back before he notices.”

“And let’s get out of Elkhart before anyone gets any ideas,” said Tristan darkly. She knew who was responsible, and she wasn’t thrilled being in such close vicinity to where that person was living.

“Want me to drive?” asked Bridgette, detecting a hint of nervousness in her niece’s usually steady voice.

“Yeah.”

Bridgette slid over into the driver’s seat as Tristan walked around the truck to climb into the passenger seat. As she was about to get into the truck she noticed that Natalie was walking up Mountain Road towards the hospital parking lot.

“Natalie’s coming…” said Tristan as she boosted herself into the passenger seat and strapped her seat belt across her lap and chest.

Bridgette glared nervously out the windshield as she watched Natalie approach. She was only about one hundred feet away; she’d be in the truck in a matter of minutes. Suddenly, something dark interrupted her view. A black van had pulled up right in front of where Natalie was walking. It had come to a complete stop. Tristan saw it first, and her blood ran cold. Bridgette rolled down the driver’s side window.

“Yo! Leave that girl alone!”

When the driver did not respond, Bridgette slammed on the gas, veering dangerously across the parking lot at full throttle. At first Tristan thought her aunt was going to crash into the black van, but the vehicle came to a screeching stop with just an inch to spare.

“Gimme the gun…” said Bridgette to Tristan.

Tristan complied and pulled the gun out of the waist band of her jeans and passed it to her aunt. Bridgette stormed from the truck towards the opposite side of the van where the sliding door was opening. She could hear the heavy rasp of breathing and a faint whimper.

“Let her go!” yelled Bridgette as she pointed the gun at the head of Natalie’s captor.

Natalie sat shaking in the back of the van with a black pillow case over her head. The person who took her stood confidently at the door and didn’t back down from Bridgette. They masked their identity under the dark shadow of their hooded sweatshirt. Though Bridgette couldn’t see the person’s face, she knew who it was. She could feel the person staring at her, and she stared back. After a moment, when she felt as if the hooded person’s resolve was weakening, she made her move. Bridgette stepped quickly towards the open van and grabbed Natalie’s leg and pulled her forward causing her to fall into the gravel below.

“Run, Natalie!” Bridgette screamed as she pushed the hooded perpetrator hard into the side of the van.

Bridgette held them down, hoping to give Natalie a chance to get away. Natalie did as she was told and ran fast down Mountain Road with the pillowcase still restricting her vision.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” the hooded person said as they fought back, hitting Bridgette in the mouth with a nasty upper cut.

Bridgette spit blood on the side of the van before returning a vicious elbow to the perpetrator’s face.

“I don’t have time for your bullshit! You wanna put me on your list?! Well to hell with that!” Bridgette spat as she kicked the assailant hard in the gut, causing them to fly back into the cargo area of the van where they had stored Natalie.

Bridgette ran as fast as she could, hoping to get back to the truck so that she could catch up with Natalie before the person in the van did. Luck was not with her tonight though, because as she reached the driver side door of Jack’s truck, Bridgette heard the unmistakable click of a gun.

***

“911 Operator... What’s your emergency?”

“There is a van on Mountain Road and Mercy Street. Someone is trying to kidnap my friend!”

“Please stay on the line with me while I contact the authorities. Do you have a direct line of sight with the perpetrator?”

“No, they are on the other side of the van. My aunt is trying to get the girl from her!”

“Can you tell me what kind of van it is?”

“It’s a black cargo van. Like the type businesses use. I can make out the license plate number.”

“What is it?”

“PAJ08256”

“Please stay in the car and on the phone with me until the authorities arrive. They are on their way.”

“Oh, my God! Aunt Bridgette! Natalie!”

“Miss? Are you still there?”

But as the operator asked her question the line went dead.

***

Liam, Adam and Jenna returned to the Elkhart Police Department after coming up empty handed from the O’Mara house. Angie was not at home for questioning. Jenna decided she would ride around the neighborhood to see if she could spot her. As a call came over the radio for a kidnapping in progress on Mountain Road, Liam and Adam bolted into action. Liam jumped up from his chair nearly knocking over his desk as he scrambled to the back door of the Elkhart Police Department. Adam, who was right on his heels, grabbed the car keys for patrol car E5.

***

Natalie ran in what she hoped was a straight line up Mountain Road as she grasped at the rope that was tied around her neck. The assailant covered her eyes with a black pillow case and bound it with rope around her slender neck. Natalie couldn’t see a thing. For a moment she wondered if she had gone blind. Natalie tried to allow her hearing to guide her. She heard the cracking sound of gun shots and screaming in the background. She heard the pounding beat of her heart, and her sneakers furiously pounding against the gravel. Then she heard it; the ominous sound of a vehicle approaching. Tires rolled heavily over the gravel road, coming closer and closer until Natalie couldn’t run anymore. Natalie’s panic raged out of control. Tears streamed down her face making it even harder for her to see. Suddenly, she felt her right foot get caught on something. She pulled and pulled, but she couldn’t free it. Just as she pulled her foot from its temporary prison, she felt the firm grip of a hand grab the back of her shirt and throw her into the back of a van. From about fifty yards away, Natalie could hear Tristan Morrow’s murderous cry.

“We’re coming for you Angie! You better count on that!”

***

“Are you alright?!” asked Tristan frantically as she ran to her aunt who was crouched down against the side of the truck with a gunshot wound to her arm.

“I’m fine! It’s just a graze.”

“You’re bleeding!”

“I’m fine we have to get Natalie!”

Bridgette climbed into the passenger seat of the truck as she wrapped an old rag around her upper right arm, holding the material with her left hand and her teeth. She wrapped the rag taut around her wound as she tied a tight knot to secure it. Tristan pounded her foot on the gas as she sped after the van. Dust billowed into the night air leaving Mountain Road in a haze.

***

Jenna DiNolfo climbed out of her patrol car in the parking lot of the Elkhart Police Station. She had choice words on her mind, and she knew exactly who could answer her questions. With a vengeful look on her face, she stormed straight to the holding cells in the back room of the police station and came face to face with the one person she knew could answer her questions.

“So we meet again…” Jenna said in a less than delightful voice.

“Surprise, surprise…” said Hunter McCord as he peered at her through the bars of his jail cell.