Broken Road (44 page)

“Yeah, but far away from him as well. Didn’t he ever ask you about that?”

“He didn’t say anything until after he had already kidnapped her. To be honest, I was glad he hadn’t. I don’t know what I would have said. I probably would have just winged it. I seem to lie better when I don’t think things through first. I’m a good spur-of-the-moment liar.”

“You don’t give yourself enough credit. You’re a good liar, period,” he said disgustingly. “What was it that he said to you after he kidnapped her that made you think that he might deviate from the plan? Did he mention where he might take her?”

“No. He never said anything about taking her somewhere else. He agreed to the plan. He was to release her on Tuesday. But when I spoke to him the other night…” She paused and looked at him.

“What?”

“I called him to make sure he was all set and wouldn’t back out, and he said…

“Said what?” Roberts said with growing impatience.

“He mentioned something about not wanting to give her up. He made it sound as if he might want to keep her.”

“It seems as though he finally realized he needed to keep her close to him and not let her leave.” Detective Lieutenant Roberts glared at her with such anger and disgust that she found herself cowering in her seat like a defenseless mouse forced into a corner by a big, fat house cat.

“And you didn’t think to put a stop to the whole thing? Maybe fess up and contact the police? If you had contacted us right away, we may have been able to get to them while they were still at the motel. Oh wait, I’m sorry. I forgot. You’re the one who wanted her out of the picture in the first place. Why would you give a damn if he raped, beat or even killed…”

He stopped. Just saying the words out loud made him sick. Nauseatingly sick. For the first time since he had sat down to speak with her, he showed signs of losing control. He leaned forward, placing both elbows on the table and began rubbing his face brusquely with both hands. Then he passed them roughly through his hair, returning to his face when done. Morgan sat quietly watching him. She knew better than to speak. Jarrod did the same thing whenever he grew frustrated or angry. It would not be a smart move to say anything right now. She would remain silent and hope it would pass soon.

After a minute or so, he pulled himself together and uttered, “What else? What else did Langdon say?”

“I heard him…umm…talking to her when he was on the phone with me. He threatened her.”

“How? What exactly did he say?” Aside from being infuriated, he was overwrought with worry and concern for Ms. Skyler’s safety.

“It wasn’t so much what he said; it was how he said it. He told her never to turn away from his touch, but he said it angrily and I could sense he was threatening her. I told him not to hurt her and reminded him that the only reason we took her was so that she would be scared and leave Gainesville. I didn’t want her to be injured in any way. But…but he said…”

Her hesitation worried the detective. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear what Langdon had said. Morgan continued by adding, “He said that may have been my reason, but it wasn’t necessarily his. And then he told me to stop bothering him. That…” She began to weep softly again. She took a stabilizing breath, wiped her nose, and said, “He and Angelise were going to be busy. Oh God, Detective. I’m so sorry. I’m…so…sorry. I’ll do anything, I swear, anything to help get her back safely.”

The detective turned his head away from her because he couldn’t stand to look at her any longer. He turned off the recorder, grabbed his notebook, and walked to the door. As he turned the handle to leave, he stopped a moment to look back at her.

“By the way, according to the law, you’re just as guilty of the crime as Langdon is.”

She simply nodded and whispered, “I figured.”

Two hours after Nick Scott had hung up with Jarrod, alias Lieutenant Wentworth, his phone rang once again.

“Hello?”

“Hello. This is Detective Lieutenant Jerome Roberts of the Gainesville Police Department. I have a message that you called earlier today with information concerning Benjamin Langdon.”

“Um…yes sir…but I already spoke to someone about that. He called a few hours ago,” Scott said, perplexed.

“Hmm. That’s strange. There’s no note of it written here on the memo. Who did you speak with?” The detective was just as puzzled as Scott was.

“Lieutenant Wentworth.”

“Lieutenant Wentworth? We don’t have a Wentworth here. Did he say if he was with the University of Florida Police or the Gainesville PD?”

“Gainesville.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, sir. I’m positive.”

“Wentworth?” he said, scratching his head as he tried to remember why the name sounded so familiar, but knowing Gainesville definitely did not have a Wentworth on the force. “Wentworth, huh?” Suddenly, it dawned on him. “Son of a bitch. That stupid, stupid kid,” he yelled at no one in particular. He jumped out of his chair and began pacing as far as the cord on the phone would allow.

“Did I do something wrong?” asked Scott, alarmed.

“No…no…not you. Mr. Scott, I need for you to tell me exactly what
Lieutenant Wentworth
asked you and what you told him. Do not leave anything out, understood?”

“Yes, sir. Well…uh…he asked how I know Benjamin…”

Scott told Detective Lieutenant Roberts the entire conversation, holding nothing back. Roberts thanked him and hung up the phone. He immediately rushed out of his office and yelled to the only officer not on the phone, “Get me the Thomasville Police Department on the phone right now.”

“Thomasville?” the officer asked questioningly.

“Thomasville, Georgia.”

What the hell was that kid thinking? The kid was going to get himself killed going after that madman. Not to mention how much more danger he was putting his girlfriend in by trying to be the damn hero and attempting to rescue her.

“Better get the FBI on the line as well,” he yelled.

“Willie, I can’t take it anymore,” Laura cried. “Why haven’t they called us with any news?”

“Sweetie, I don’t know. Maybe there is no news.” He took Laura into his arms. He was just as nervous and worried as she was. Somewhere out there a crazed man was holding his sweet, defenseless daughter hostage. It was killing him that he wasn’t out there hunting the man down, but he knew the police were doing all that they could. He had spent the last few hours watching the news with his wife and Ileana, but there were no updates. The same information was still being given. They would show pictures of Angel and of her abductor, Benjamin Langdon. They would say he was probably armed and dangerous. That he had a history of mental illness.

His neighbors were interviewed, but all they had to say was that he was a strange man who mostly kept to himself. Didn’t anybody ever think that maybe he was trouble in the making? That he was a walking time bomb? No. Everyone just minded his own business and kept away from him. Now this maniac was out there alone with his daughter. Willie swore to himself that if Langdon laid a hand on her, he would rip his throat out.

“I wonder why Jarrod hasn’t come back,” Ileana wondered aloud.

Willie walked toward the couch with his wife still clinging to him. They sat down and he took a deep sigh.

“I have no idea where he might have gone,” Willie said. “He said he needed to take care of some things, but that was a long time ago. I don’t know what could be more important than this.”

Ileana noticed the annoyance in his voice and immediately came to Jarrod’s defense.

“It must be something extremely important that just couldn’t wait. Jarrod is madly in love with Angel, and—”

The phone rang. All three jumped up, but Willie got to the phone before the others.

“Yes?”

“Mr. Skyler, this is Detective Lieutenant Roberts. I’m just calling to give you an update on what’s going on.”

“Finally. We’ve been going crazy over here,” he said, not caring if he sounded rude or not. He was sick and tired of sitting around waiting for news.

“I understand, but we’ve been busy,” said the detective.

“I know. I’m sorry. It’s just that this is so hard.”

“I’m sure it is,” said Roberts sympathetically.

“What can you tell us?” asked Willie.

“Let me start by saying that we believe we know where your daughter is. Please don’t get your hopes up yet. We’ve contacted the police in Thomasville, Georgia, and they’re on their way to a remote cabin in that town.”

“Thomasville, Georgia? I don’t understand.”

“Turns out one of the phone leads we received looks to be valid. A gentleman called and said he works with Benjamin Langdon…” The detective went on to explain all the details, leaving Willie flabbergasted. As Roberts explained, Willie would have to stop to repeat what he was saying for Laura and Ileana’s benefit. They were practically pulling him off the phone trying to hear what was being said on the other side.

Finally, the detective said, “By the way, I have a question for you. I’m almost positive your answer is going to be no, but I would love to be pleasantly surprised by you saying yes. Is your daughter’s boyfriend there with you right now?”

“Jarrod? No, he isn’t. Why do you ask?”

“Yup. I thought so. Any idea where he might be?”

“No. He said he had some things to take care of and that he would meet me here at the hotel when he was done, but that was hours ago. I honestly do not have any idea where he might be. Is there a problem?”

“Yes, indeed. There’s a big problem.”

“What is it? What’s wrong now?” asked Willie.

“It appears Mr. Wentworth may have decided to take matters into his own hands and is currently on his way, if he isn’t already there, to Georgia.”

“Oh shit.”

Chapter Forty-Two

A
ngel woke up disoriented and starving. She lay in the bed, motionless, taking in her surroundings. The house was quiet and she still couldn’t tell if it was day or night. She didn’t even know how long she had slept. Was it just a nap that she had taken, or did she sleep the whole night through? She couldn’t stand this anymore. She slowly lifted herself into a sitting position, her back up against the headboard, her legs crossed at the ankles. She remained that way for a few minutes until she had no choice but to get up and inform Benjamin that she needed to use the bathroom. She hated the idea of having to see him again, but nature was knocking, or rather pounding, on the door and she needed to answer.

She stood up and knocked on the bedroom door. No response. She twisted the doorknob a few times, and not surprisingly, found that she was still locked in. She knocked harder until she heard him stir and groan.
He must be sleeping on the couch
, she thought. She began to pound heavily on the door.

“What do you want?” he screamed, obviously annoyed.

“I have to use the bathroom.”

“Hold it in,” he yelled back.

“I can’t. I need to pee now. I’ll just keep pounding until you open the damn door!” And she did exactly as she said she would.

“Fine. I’m c-coming. Just stop making all that racket!” But she didn’t until she heard the clicking sound of the door being unlocked. As soon as he opened the door, she pushed her way past him and hurried to the bathroom, slamming the door shut and locking it.