Captive Justice: A Private Investigator Mystery Series (A Jake & Annie Lincoln Thriller Book 4) (12 page)

She continued to struggle as he straddled her, her breathing coming fast, her heart beating even faster.

She pleaded again, “Please.” Then a gloved hand was clamped to her mouth, cutting off her air.

“Be quiet.”

She saw her other attacker approach from the side and stand over her, his arms crossed. “Keep her quiet,” she heard him say.

“Are you going to shut up?”

She forced her head to nod, her eyes unblinking with fear.

The hand was removed and she was rolled over. A cable tie zipped as her wrists were bound behind her back. She lay on her stomach, the once pleasant smell of decaying greenery now tasting foul on her tongue. A rag was tied about her mouth and she lay still, unable to move, helpless and shaking with fear.

They dragged her to her feet and though she tried, she was unable to work free from the strong hand that gripped her arm. She stared back and forth at her captors. One was a little shorter than the other, but both were of average weight and she couldn’t see any of their features.

She had no idea who they could possibly be or what they wanted. She only feared the worst. Were they going to kill her?

“Give me the bag.”

The shorter man produced a black bag from his back pocket and tossed it to his partner. It was pulled over her head and a drawstring tightened, cutting off all light, but at least she could breathe.

Whoever they were, they didn’t want her to be able to identify them. And wherever they were going, they didn’t want her to know. That was the only thing that gave her some hope; they might not kill her after all.

With the grip still on her arm, she was prodded and pushed through the wooded area, occasionally tripping over fallen branches, half-stumbling. Her foot caught onto something and she fell to her knees, held by the grasp on her arm and wrenched upright again.

She felt herself going down an incline, then gravel under her feet.

A vehicle door slid open, probably a van, and she was prodded inside and lay trembling.

The door screeched shut with a bang and in a moment, the front doors opened and slammed. She heard the engine start and the whine of the tires as they picked up speed.

They drove for what seemed like fifteen minutes, maybe more, and then the vehicle stopped and the motor died.

She was dragged from the van and again pushed forward, up a set of steps, across a floor. A door squeaked open and she was led down a set of stairs, across a hard floor and pushed into a chair.

She blinked at the blinding light when the bag was pulled away. She looked up at her captors, her eyes appealing to them. She tried to talk, but with the rag in her mouth, her words were muffled, unintelligible.

A musty smell hung in the air. She was in a basement somewhere, dirty and old, with the taste of mildew.

More cable ties were produced and her legs were fastened to the chair. Her hands were cut free and she rubbed her wrists and arms to increase the circulation. Her shoulders ached from having her hands tied behind her back. Her freedom didn’t last long as more ties zipped and her wrists were again bound, this time fastened to the arms of the chair.

She struggled as a yellow, nylon rope was wrapped around her chest and tied to the back of the chair. Her struggling soon stopped and she was helpless, unable to move.

“Smile for the camera.”

She looked up as her picture was taken.

The tall man spoke. “You’ll be ok. We’ll be back.”

Their footsteps died away as they climbed the stairs, then the door at the top slammed and she was alone. Alone and afraid, tears running down her face as she shivered under the bright overhead light.

Chapter 25

Thursday, September 1st, 5:16 PM

JAKE WAS EXHAUSTED. He’d spent the last hour in the basement, pushing his body to the max, working out his anger and frustration on the exercise equipment. He finished with the bench press, racked the weights and lay still.

His stress had evaporated. His frustration with Annie’s mother and his anger at the kidnapper was lessened. All he needed now was a long shower and he’d be good to go again.

He made his way upstairs, turned the shower on and stepped into the hot downpour. As the water eased his aching muscles, he thought about how much he wanted to nail this guy. He was determined to do all he could but wasn’t sure where to start. His involvement in this case seemed to be only as a pawn in the kidnapper’s evil game.

He stepped from the shower and toweled off before making his way to the bedroom. He donned a t-shirt and track pants and went downstairs to the kitchen where Annie was preparing dinner.

She turned from the counter as he entered. “Feel better?”

“Much.” He peered through the window by the sink to the large back yard where Matty and Kyle tossed a baseball back and forth. “Have you heard from Hank?”

Annie shook her head. “Not since the press conference. I’m sure if they’d found anything substantial he would’ve let us know.”

“The meatloaf smells good,” Jake said, as he popped the oven door open and peeked inside. As his cell phone rang, he turned and picked it from a wicker basket on the table.

“Jake Lincoln.”

“Mr. Lincoln,” he heard. “My name is Walter Coleman. My . . . my wife has been kidnapped and I . . . I was told to call you.”

Jake sank into a chair and shook his head slowly. Another one. He put the phone on speaker and glanced at Annie. “Yes, Mr. Coleman,” he said.

Annie sat and leaned forward, facing him, her brow lined with concern.

“I got home from work just after five o’clock. My wife wasn’t here. I thought it was a bit unusual, but didn’t think a lot of it until . . . until he called. He said he’s holding her and demands fifty thousand dollars for her return. And then he said to call you. He wants you to deliver the money.”

“Try to relax, Mr. Coleman. I’ll do everything I can to get your wife back safely.”

“He said not to call the police or my wife would die. I . . . I don’t know what to do.”

“We’ll come and see you right away. Don’t call the police until we talk to you.”

Jake wrote down the Coleman address, hung up the phone and leaned back. Annie was already on her feet.

“I guess we’ll have to put dinner on hold for now,” she said. “I’ll just get Chrissy to watch Matty and then we’ll go.”

~~*~~

THE COLEMAN residence was a few minutes away, out on the edge of town, and Jake pulled the Firebird to a stop in front of the double-width lot.

They climbed from the vehicle, walked up the wide driveway to the front door and rang the bell. Mr. Coleman answered the door immediately, worry on his face.

“We’re Jake and Annie Lincoln,” Jake said.

He ushered them into an immaculate front room. A large fireplace took up much of one wall, the opposite being mostly windows, with an abundance of houseplants and greenery filling the air with a pleasant scent.

Coleman motioned toward a couch under the window. Jake sat at one end, while Annie chose the other and watched Coleman pace back and forth on the hardwood floor. His hands were clasped behind his back, his head down, his brow ridged in worry and thought.

Annie spoke first, choosing her words carefully. “Mr. Coleman, it’s our duty to inform you to call the police. The final decision is up to you of course, but we’re concerned about getting your wife back safely.”

Coleman stopped pacing and faced Annie. “So what do you suggest?”

Jake spoke. “We think it’s best if you don’t involve the police until after your wife has been returned.”

“Why is that?”

Annie exchanged a look with Jake and said, “Have you heard about the abduction of Linda Gould earlier this week?”

“Yes . . . I did hear something about that.”

“We believe it’s the same kidnapper. Are you aware the police were involved and Mrs. Gould . . . well, she wasn’t released?”

Coleman frowned. “He told me in no uncertain terms, not to call the police. But they always say that, don’t they?”

“Of course,” Jake said. “They always do, but this guy is deadly serious.”

“Then we’ll pay him. It’s as simple as that.” Coleman reached into his shirt pocket and produced a cell phone. He touched the screen a couple of times and handed the phone to Jake. “He sent a picture of her.”

Annie leaned over and squinted at the phone. Mrs. Coleman appeared to be tied to the same chair Mrs. Gould was tied to earlier. She had a cloth in her mouth and her frightened eyes stared at the camera, pleading for help.

Jake sent the picture to his own cell and handed the phone back. “Mr. Coleman, what do you do for a living?”

“I’m a landscaper.”

Annie had taken a notepad from her handbag and took notes as Coleman continued, “And my wife takes care of the business end of things from home.”

“What time did you get home today?” Annie asked.

“About 5:30 or so.”

“Was the house broken into or did you see any signs of a struggle?”

“Not at all. The door was locked and the burglar alarm set. Wherever it happened, it wasn’t here.”

“Would your wife have been out somewhere, perhaps at the grocery store, or at a friend’s place?”

Coleman shook his head slowly. “It’s doubtful. I spoke to her on the phone about three o’clock or so and she rarely went out after that. She’s always here when I get home.”

“And yet, the burglar alarm was set,” Jake said.

Coleman snapped his fingers. “She often goes for a run.” He motioned vaguely to his right. “There’s a wooded area just over there where she likes to jog, sometimes in the mornings, but she usually goes out in the afternoon.”

Annie pursed her lips, her forehead puckered in thought. That had to be where she was abducted. The kidnapper must have known she usually went for a run and exactly where she went.

“Will you have any problem getting the money together?” Jake asked.

Coleman shook his head. “It’s a much smaller amount than I would’ve expected and I can withdraw it from our savings account.”

“I suggest you do that as soon as possible and let me know when you have it. I believe the kidnapper will be calling me shortly with instructions.”

Coleman looked at his watch. “I’ll have to get it in the morning. The banks are closed now.”

Annie looked at Jake. “If there’s nothing else, I’d like to take a look at the wooded area.”

Jake stood and offered Coleman his hand. “We’ll do what we can to get your wife back,” he said.

Annie stood and followed Jake to the door. As Coleman let them out, she said, “We’ll let you know when we hear from the kidnapper.”

Coleman stepped onto the front porch behind them. “The wooded area is just down there,” he said, motioning with his hand.

They walked to the Firebird, climbed in, drove a couple hundred feet and pulled to the curb where the road ended in a cul-de-sac. They stepped from the vehicle and looked at their surroundings. Annie could see the wooded area on the other side of a large vacant lot. They took a footpath leading from the street, crossed the lot and approached the treed area.

The overhead greenery darkened the forest and shaded them from the early evening sun. All was quiet and peaceful, a sharp contrast to the events Annie was sure had taken place here earlier today.

“Watch for any signs of a struggle,” Annie said.

They wandered down the path for several minutes, keeping watch on both sides.

Annie stopped short as she heard the sound of an engine—possibly a motorcycle—coming from their right.

Jake had stopped too and frowned as he pointed in the direction of the sound. “I think there’s a road over there somewhere. The motorcycle is going too fast to be on a path.”

Annie followed Jake as they turned off the trail and headed through the overgrown forest. They dodged fallen trees and shrubbery and finally came to a slope.

Annie pointed. “There’s the road.”

They continued to the tree line and then down a grass-covered slope to the edge of a dusty gravel road.

“This is where it happened,” Annie said. “Somewhere along here. Unfortunately, there are no houses along this stretch of road. It might be difficult to find anyone who saw a vehicle in the area.”

She closed her eyes and pictured the scene—Mrs. Coleman, out for an afternoon run, and then seized in the forest, dragged to this spot where the vehicle had waited and then carried off to who knows where.

They spent the next half hour examining the edge of the road for any signs of a disturbance, a struggle, or anything that just didn’t seem right. They came up empty-handed, but Annie was confident they were on the right track.

Chapter 26

Thursday, September 1st, 6:12 PM

ROSEMARY COLEMAN struggled against her bonds for what seemed like hours. Her legs were cramped from being unable to move them and when she tried, the plastic ties bit into her legs. Her wrists were red and raw from tugging uselessly at the restraints.

She’d been left alone, her abductors probably certain she was securely bound. And they were right. Any attempts to free herself only resulted in more pain.

She looked up as the door at the top of the steps creaked open. A pair of legs appeared and then, except for the ski mask covering his head, one of her abductors was fully in view. He stepped to the floor, stood under the bright overhead light and watched her a moment.

“Do you want some water?” he finally asked.

Rosemary nodded. Her throat was parched, her head throbbing and she was hungry. Water would be welcome.

The man stepped behind her chair. “If you promise not to scream I’ll remove the cloth.”

She nodded again and tried to say, “I promise.”

He struggled with the knot and the cloth fell away. He pulled a plastic bottle of water from his back pocket, screwed the top off and she drank greedily as he tipped the container, the warm liquid a balm on her dry lips.

He set the bottle on the floor beside her and stood back.