The Botanist (30 page)

Chapter 46

Alex paced back and forth next to her boulder, for lack of anything better to do. Cody hadn’t been gone long, but it seemed like an eternity. It was utterly quiet in the caverns. She supposed that might be a good thing; if Cody and the killer came face to face, they were sure to make some ruckus. But if the eerie calm meant nothing was happening, then where had the killer gone?

Her heart pounded violently in her chest. No matter how many times Alex told herself that everything would be okay—Cody had found her and they’d all get out alive—she couldn’t make herself believe it. A cold foreboding squatted in the pit of her stomach, refusing to budge. Something was about to happen; she could feel it.

“Alex?” Melissa had been coming to by degrees since Cody left. At first her eyes fluttered open, but she seemed unable to speak. Then she started muttering half-coherent words and phrases. Now she sat up on her elbow, holding her head. “What happened?”

“The killer attacked you. You hit your head pretty hard.”

“But you stopped him?”

“Sort of. Cody’s here.”

“What? Where?”

“He had to go find some tools to free us.”

“He
left
us here?”

“He’ll be back, Melissa. Our chains are connected to big slabs of concrete. We can’t drag them. If he’s going to get us out of here, he has to find some way to break the chains.”

When Melissa spoke again, it was in a frightened whisper. “What if the killer finds him?”

Alex didn’t have an answer. The echo of her own worst thoughts made her feel like she would explode. “He won’t,” she said, her voice small.

“But he knows these passages better than any of us.”

Alex turned away, not wanting Melissa’s rising hysteria to infect her. Then she heard a soft scratching sound coming from the corridor Cody had disappeared into less than half an hour before.

“And what if he can see in the dark down here?” Melissa’s voice was getting shriller by the syllable.

“Quiet, I hear something.” The scratching sound, like a foot dragging, was getting closer.

“But what if he sneaks up on Cody, and Cody doesn’t see him and—”

“Melissa,
shhh!
Someone’s coming!”

Melissa froze, looked toward the sound, and gulped. The two of them waited, statue-still, as the scratching sound got closer and closer. A shadow fell across the light spilling into the room, then a shoulder thrust its way into Alex’s field of vision. Two more steps, and Alex let her breath out in relief.

Cody was half dragging—hence the scratching sound—another person along with him. In his free hand, he held a sledge hammer.

“Who’s that?” Alex asked when she found her voice.

“Jonathin Landes.”

“Who?”

“I came across his name during the course of the investigation.” Cody set the frail-looking man on the ground on the side of the room, then crossed toward Alex.

“And he was down
here?”

Cody shrugged, hefting the sledge hammer absently. “No doubt it’s a long story, but let’s get out of here first and deal with explanations later.”

Alex nodded.

“Cody,” Melissa breathed from the side of the room.

“Melissa,” Cody said. “How do you feel?”

She gave him a weak smile. “I’ve been better.”

“Let’s all get out of here. Then we’ll get you to a hospital.”

“Did you see anyone?” Alex glanced at Melissa and dropped her voice to a whisper. “Did you see
him?”

Cody shook his head. “Only Landes.” He took a knee and examined Alex’s chain.

“I don’t understand. Where’d he go?”

“You said you injured him, right? Maybe he went to bandage his injury.”

“It wasn’t that bad an injury, Cody—a scratch. It bled, but it wouldn’t slow him down.”

Cody shrugged straightening his legs. “Then we’d better hurry. Either way, he’ll be back soon. Stand back.”

He’d laid out a rusted length of chain. Alex stood as far back from it as she could while Cody positioned the sledge hammer behind his back.

“Ready?”

She nodded.

He planted his feet, gripped the far end of the handle with both hands, and held it over his head so that it would come down onto the chain with a vengeance.

He didn’t get that far.

Alex felt more than heard something rush by her. Then a black mass tackled Cody. He and the Botanist went down as one and rolled.

Alex gasped. Melissa screamed. The two men rolled in the dirt, fighting for the upper hand. Punches were being thrown. All of them seemed to be connecting solidly, but in the semi-darkness, it was impossible to tell who was winning. Of course, the killer was much bigger than Cody, so if all punches were connecting, then . . .

Melissa was alternately screeching and sobbing, but Alex barely registered it.

“Alex!” Melissa screamed. “Shoot him! You have Cody’s gun!”

“I’m not that great a shot,” Alex yelled back. “I don’t dare while they’re wrestling so close together. I might hit Cody.”

They rolled closer to her, and Alex could see more clearly. She looked for an opening, a time when there was enough space between Cody and the Botanist that she could shoot the killer without injuring Cody.

It never came.

They staggered toward her, both trying to get the upper hand. Alex tried to get out of the way, but didn’t move quickly enough. They slammed into her, knocking her gun out of reach.

Cody tried to use his gun, but the killer slapped it away. The killer then landed a right hook to Cody’s nose, which crunched, and Alex was sure it was broken. It was enough to momentarily stun him. The killer leapt to his feet and retrieved the sledge hammer, which had landed a few feet away.

“Cody, watch out!” Alex shrieked.

Cody recovered just in time to throw himself to the right, barely getting out of the way before the hammer slammed into the earth where his face had been an instant before. He had to roll away from two more hammer swings, but he finally got to his feet. When the killer raised the hammer over his head once more, Cody threw his shoulder into the killer’s abdomen, knocking the wind out of him. The killer dropped the sledge hammer as Cody threw him back against the rock wall.

The hammer landed close to Alex. She slid forward onto her knees in the dirt, but her chain kept her from reaching it; her fingers were just inches shy. Changing tactics, she slid onto her hip and reached out with her feet. Cradling the handle of the tool between the curved arches of her sneakers, she dragged it toward her. It took precious time because the metal part of the hammer was distal to the handle, difficult to move without actually gripping it, but she finally got it close enough to grab with her hands, and leapt to her feet.

Cody’s fight was growing desperate. Even in the semi-darkness, Alex could tell his face was a collage of bruises and blood streaks.

Alex straightened out the same length of chain Cody had, and swung the hammer at it with all her might. She was not nearly as strong as Cody would have been. He probably could have broken the chain in two or three swings.

The killer looked up in surprise at the first clang of the hammer, but Cody tackled him before he could react further. Alex swung it again and again, connecting with the chain, until her back and shoulders ached and her neck was cramping. The killer hit Cody in the head with what looked to be just his hand, but Cody hit the ground. Hard. Only then did the killer drop a donut-sized rock that Alex hadn’t seen. He knelt down hard on Cody’s chest—enough to make Cody grunt—and then used both his hands to push Cody’s chin upward.

Alex swung harder at her chain while Melissa’s crying subsided into a high pitched whine. She sounded like a wounded animal.

On the eighth swing of the hammer, Alex’s chain broke.

In the dim light, Alex couldn’t see where either gun had ended up. Instead, she grabbed the broken end of her chain from where it connected to her right hand. She vaulted onto the killer’s back, looped the chain around his neck, and yanked back hard.

He gasped and lurched to his feet. Reaching up and behind him, he groped for Alex, and she had to dodge his meat hook of a hand. His other hand dug into his throat, trying to get a finger under the chain so he could breathe. Stunted whining noises came from his throat as he tried—and failed—to draw breath.

Alex caught a fleeting glance of surprise on Cody’s face, but then there was only a blur of images as the Botanist stomped and thrashed around the room. It took all her energy to keep the chokehold with the chain. Her arms shook and her biceps ached with the strain.

She had a vague impression of Cody feeling around frantically in the dirt.

Then the killer smartened up.

He staggered backward and slammed into the rock wall, pancaking Alex between him and it. Pain pulsed through every nerve in her body, and the air whooshed from her lungs. Her arms and legs went numb, her hold on the chain limp.

The staggering psychopath grabbed her chain in one hand, a handful of her hair in the other, and flipped her over his shoulder, slamming her into the ground.

Something in her abdomen cracked.

High above her, the killer raised his fist. She tried to dodge out of the way, but pain lanced through her torso, and she didn’t make it. His blow glance off her cheek, and her right eye went blind. She didn’t think she’d be able to move even that much again.

The killer produced a blade no larger than a steak knife, but it looked sharp. Using a hand on her neck to anchor her down, he raised the knife, aiming for her chest.

Gore exploded outward from the killer’s chest in four small, round spots. Alex jumped, but didn’t have the strength to scream. The killer looked down at the four bullet holes in his chest, seeming to forget she was there, then raised his eyes.

Alex followed his gaze, craning her neck painfully. There stood Cody, feet planted, both hands wrapped around his glock, barrel smoking.

The Botanist got to his feet, then staggered backward several steps. He studied his wounds. His face was expressionless, though his eyes held a vague sense of confusion. He looked at Cody. Then his eyes fell on Alex. His expression hardened, and he lunged toward her.

Cody raised his gun a quarter inch and emptied his clip.

Chapter 47

When the Botanist went down, he landed partially on top of Alex. She pushed at the ground with her feet, trying to crawl away, but gasped in pain. Cody rushed forward, grabbed her under the arms, and dragged her back. She grunted when he moved her.

“Alex, where are you hurt?” He knelt beside her, looking down into her face. “Alex?” Her breathing was labored, beads of sweat dotted her face and neck, and she didn’t seem to be able to answer. Then he realized she was holding her ribs.

“I’m going to lift up your shirt, Alex, so I can see how bad it is.”

She still didn’t answer, but jerked her head forward, trying to nod.

He put a hand on her forehead. “Just relax.” He lifted her shirt up to her sternum…and gasped. He shut his eyes, horror radiating through him. From sternum to beltline, her abdomen was a mass of blue and purple and black bruises, which tapered to a sickly yellow hue at the edges. No wonder she was having trouble breathing.

“Try not to move, Alex. We’ll get you some help.”

“Cody?” Melissa’s voice from behind him was thick with tears.

He turned. He’d almost forgotten her. Near the door, Landes was still sitting where Cody had put him, his face blank despite the violence that had just transpired in front of him.

Alex’s hand shot out and grabbed Cody’s wrist. Her eyes pled with him to stay with her.

“Are you okay, Melissa?” he asked over his shoulder.

“I . . . I just want to get out of here.”

“I know. We will. It’s all right. He’s dead now.”

He became aware of footsteps coming toward them from the outside corridor. His mind filled with visions of another attack from the killer, or perhaps the black man he’d seen earlier, who had been almost as big. He jumped to his feet, wanting to put himself between both women and the threat, but Alex and Melissa lay fifteen feet apart. To be in front of both, he’d have to stand almost
at
the doorway, and he couldn’t meet the threat like that.

He settled for standing midway between the two women, ready to spring in either direction if necessary. He’d already loaded a second magazine into his gun. Now he raised it.

His breath, along with all the tension, seeped out of his body when Frank and Court ran in, guns raised.

“We heard the shots,” Court said, breathing hard.

Cody nodded to the killer’s corpse, and both detectives lowered their guns.

“So the threat is neutralized then?” Frank asked.

Cody started to nod, then stopped. “Actually, I did see someone else down here earlier.”

Frank arched an eyebrow. “Who?”

“I don’t know. Another man. Actually, he helped me. I don’t know who he is, or where he went.”

“You mean
that
guy?” Court was looking behind Cody.

Cody spun and raised his gun before realizing that Court was talking about Landes.

“No. That’s Jonathin Landes.”

“The jewelry guy?”

Cody nodded, but turned back to Alex. “We need to get these three to the hospital. Let’s save stories for later.”

Frank nodded.

Cody retrieved the sledge hammer and handed it to Frank. “See if you can break Melissa’s chain.”

“Keys.” It was Alex. Her breathing was still labored, but she seemed to be adapting to the pain enough to take in what was happening around her. She had raised one hand to point at the killer, lying five feet from her. “He . . . has . . . keys.” She gasped between each word.

Cody went over and, squatting down, put a hand on her shoulder. Then he looked where she was pointing. Sure enough, a small ring with a dozen keys was attached to the killer’s belt. He retrieved them and tossed them to Frank.

Frank went to squat by a shivering Melissa to work on her shackle. He put a hand on her arm, and Cody could hear him murmuring comforting words to her. Cody knew Melissa deserved his attention, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave Alex. He knelt beside her again and took her hand. Court came to kneel by him.

“What about him?” He nodded at Landes. The old man was staring at them, but not really seeing.

“I’m not sure he’s all here,” Cody whispered. “I think he’s been a prisoner down here for a long time.”

Frank frowned at Landes, looking about as disturbed as Cody felt.

“Why don’t you take him, Court? Frank can help Melissa. Get them both out of here and send help back in for me and Alex.”

“You don’t want to just bring her now?”

“I don’t want to move her.”

Court’s face turned stone-serious. “Her neck?”

“No, that’s not it. I don’t think.” He reached down and lifted Alex’s shirt again. She watched them without reaction, still focusing on her breathing. Court had roughly the same reaction Cody did when he saw Alex’s abdomen. “If we try to carry her,” Cody said, “she’ll be in a lot of pain.”

“I understand, Cody, I do, but there’s a problem.”

“What?”

“While I was exploring, I found a way out. It’ll be a lot easier than the way we came in—these three won’t be able to crawl up that skinny tunnel. The way I found lets out about half a mile and . . . around the corner, if you will, from where he abducted Alex the other night. When I got there, I checked my phone. Had six missed calls from the captain.”

Cody sighed. “He knew we were gone.”

“I guess Rose saw Frank and me leave, ratted us out. Anyway, he was on his way out here with reinforcements anyway, so I told him where the outlet was. Told him I was coming back in for you and Frank, but he said he’d meet us there.”

“So what’s the problem, other than me maybe losing my job?”

“Like I said, it’s a much easier way out than the tunnel, but there’s still a bit of climbing involved—scaling large boulders. The opening is up high. I think the three of us can get these guys out.” He glanced around at Landes, Alex, and Melissa. “Even carrying Alex, we could hand her up in succession and get her through without too much trouble, but no way we’re getting a gurney down here. Not right away anyway. We could always call in more people and do a rope-and-pulley sort of thing, but that’ll take time. If we just carry her out, we can have her to the hospital in ninety minutes. If we wait, it could be hours.”

Cody sighed. More dilemmas. Then Alex squeezed his hand and he looked down at her.

“It’s okay,” she breathed, “Cody. Take me out”—
breath
—“now. I don’t want to be” —
breath
—“down here”—her eyes went around the room, then rested on the killer’s corpse—“anymore.”

After a moment, he nodded.

“You guys ready to go?” Frank had successfully freed Melissa from her chains. Cody and Court nodded, and Frank reached down and scooped Melissa into his arms. She laid her head against his shoulder and cried softly.

Court helped Landes to his feet. He leaned heavily on Court but looked at Cody. “What about my daughter?”

It was the first time Landes had spoken since Court and Frank had entered the room, and both of them seemed surprised to hear him.

Cody had forgotten about the man’s daughter.

“Sir.” Cody addressed Landes, voicing a suspicion he’d had since discovering who Landes was. “Did you have your daughter with you when you first came here?”

“Yes.” Landes nodded. “It was the only way he could get me to help him.”

“But if you’ve been down here for twenty years, then she wouldn’t be a toddler anymore. She’d be grown, now.”

Landes frowned. Cody could see the wheels turning in his head as he tried to make what Cody was saying compute. He shook his head, frowned, and tried again, but he couldn’t accept it. “She’s just a little girl,” he whispered.

“She
was
a little girl,” Cody said gently, his gaze going to Alex. “A little girl who might have . . . escaped out onto the highway.”

Alex had been listening to the conversation passively. When Cody said the last, her eyes flew open, and she twisted her neck around to stare at Landes in awe.

Landes looked confused, as did Court and Frank.

“What?” Court asked.

“What?”
Frank said from behind him.

Cody shook his head. “Look, Jonathin, there are people waiting to help us just outside these caves, but we have to make it there. If you’ll come with us now, I promise I’ll send rescuers back in to look for your daughter.”

Landes looked downright terrified, but when several seconds passed and he didn’t respond either way, Cody nodded to Court, who nudged Landes forward. The two of them followed Frank, carrying Melissa, out of the cavern.

Cody bent and, as gingerly as he could, picked up Alex. Her face contorted in pain and a groan escaped through her clenched teeth, but she slung her arms around his neck and laid her head against his shoulder.

“Is that man my father?” she asked when they’d moved out of the cavern and into the corridor.

Cody bent his head slightly so he could whisper in her ear while still keeping his eyes ahead. “I can’t be sure, but I think so.”

She nodded and as the minutes passed, Cody became aware of the spot on his shoulder where her cheek rested becoming damp.