Closing Books (30 page)

Melissa nodded.

“Then you know the timeline. The alibi you provided was probably when the woman went missing. From the date that you were to provide the alibi until the body shows up.”

Melissa pursed her lips. “A day or two.”

Fighting back her tears, Kate nodded.

“You still have time.”

Kate gave Melissa a smiled and ran up the stairs.
 

“So?” Dan asked the moment Kate re-entered the room.

“She doesn’t think so. We should call Detective Allen.”

Dan was on his feet and ready to leave the room. “I’m going there now.”

“Where?” Kate stepped in front of him.

“The company. Their trucks are huge. You can’t just park them anywhere. People will notice,” Joseph said.

“And one of the cleaning companies is a shell company; the other one cleans the main office, so there’s no reason for them to arrange the schedule that way,” Ben added.

“Yeah,” Ryan said. “He’s probably just using that as an excuse so that he can wash out his truck, and no one will suspect if the floor is wet or if there’s a weird detergent smell.”

Kate shook her head. “How? How are you going to get in? There’s security. No one is going to let you in. If you make a big deal, and she’s really inside, don’t you think it’ll only make things worse for her? Look at what he does to the women. He’d kill her in a second if he knew we were coming.”

“I can get you in.” A small voice came from outside the room.
 

Everyone turned to see Melissa Rose standing by the door.
 

“I’ve been with him to some company parties. The security and staff should recognize me. I don’t think there’d be a problem.”

“Wouldn’t it be weird for you to bring a man into your husband’s company?” Joseph asked.

“I know how to pretend. After all these years, I think I’ve become a pretty good actress. I’ll have no problem taking him in.”

“Let’s go then.”

Kate opened her mouth to protest, but decided against it. Dan should know how dangerous it was. She didn’t have to remind him. If things were the other way around, he wouldn’t stop Tyler; he’d go along with him.
 

And there wasn’t time for her to sit and think every aspect through. She didn’t want Evelyn to go through any of what she had seen in the video.

“Bring everyone back safe and in one piece. And Melissa, thank you.”

Dan was already halfway down the stairs when Melissa nodded and trailed after him.

She turned around, and Tyler was on the phone with Detective Allen.
 

For now, there was nothing else she could do. She closed her eyes, and the sudden reality of the situation hit her. Taking in a deep breath, she swallowed hard.

Breaking down wasn’t going help bring Evelyn home.

Time wasn’t on their side. She’d cry later when Evelyn came back.

“We should go with him. It isn’t safe for him to go alone,” Joseph said. “Ty and Ryan will stay here with you.”

“Where are you going? You can’t go in.”

“Then I’ll wait outside. At least if something happens, I can be there.”

Kate nodded, she wanted to go along with them, but she was certain none of them would allow it.

“Don’t even think about it. Even if Ty allows it, I’m not. You’re pregnant, you’re in your first trimester. It’s not safe. Evelyn would kill herself if anything happened to the baby,” Joseph said.

“He’s right, Kate. You’re going to sit this one out,” Ryan said and gave Joseph a nod. “We’ll call you once there’s news.”

Her fingers played with the pendant of her necklace.
Please bring them back safely.

Evelyn opened her eyes and her legs stretched out, immediately hitting the edge of something. Her legs retracted as the grogginess swam in her head. She blinked and struggled to keep her eyes open with the bright lights blaring right at her.
 

When her full vision returned, she was stunned for a moment.
 

The metal grills, the tight, confined space.
 

She turned, and the same grills met her.

The haze that shrouded her mind dissipated. She pushed off the ground and onto her knees. She jammed her fingers through the squares and felt the cold hard metal grill.

Then, she found her voice. She screamed and shook the cage. She should know her actions were useless. She’d tried it before, and it had never accomplished anything except to drain her strength, but she couldn’t stop herself.

She couldn’t control her actions.

She didn’t know how long her delirium lasted when she finally heard the still small voice she’d heard at the office.
 

Calm down, Evelyn. Don’t be afraid. Save your strength.

Curling her legs up against herself, she leaned on the cage and took in a deep breath.
 

Calm down, everything will be fine.

She drew in long breaths through her nose and forced herself to focus.

The cage was bigger than the one she had been in, but it yielded the same results. She couldn’t stand without bending over, and she couldn’t stretch her legs.
 

She looked around, squinting when she turned toward the source of light; a spotlight, shone directly at her. She used her hand to shield herself from the direct glare, trying to look at what was beyond the light. Regardless of how she tilted her head from the lights, she couldn’t see anything.

She glanced in the opposite direction to escape the lights for a while and let her mind process the situation.
 

The walls of the room were close, too close, and it seemed elongated.

She’d seen enough rooms in her work to know something wasn’t right. It wasn’t a room; she was in some sort of container.

A little farther down the container, a single stool stood between the walls.
 

Confusion and fear compounded and exploded into a migraine that made thinking impossible.

She shook her head and again, forced herself to draw in long, deep breaths. She tried to concentrate and think about what got her here.

The last thing she remembered seeing was a text from Dan. Then, the rest of her memories poured in. The voice she’d heard, the voice she should have trusted. Exiting the elevator…

Her hand moved up her neck, and she winced as she felt the swollen bump on the back of her neck.
 

None of her memories brought any comfort. It didn’t take long for her to figure out who put her in the cage.

She knew at once that she was in danger.
 

There would be no message for her to send. She would be made to disappear or turn up at a morgue. That realization sent her heart racing, but she was quick to quell the fears and anxiety before it spiraled out of control.

Now was not the time to break down.

David Morgan put her in a cage for one obvious reason—to break her.
 

The stubborn streak in her wouldn’t allow that to happen. If she could survive the torture for three years, she could survive this.

And above all else, she was no longer alone. Dan would come for her. Kate would find a way; Tyler, Joseph, and Ryan, they wouldn’t give up on her. She just needed to hang on.
 

She was sure they were already working on it. Dan would be here anytime.

Then, despite being caged up like an animal, she found the strength to smile.

The sudden gush of air caught her attention and her head snapped toward the direction of the light. She hadn’t realized how stuffy the air was until the sudden injection of warm air.

She still couldn’t see anything, but she heard the heavy feet landing on the metal base. She felt the slight vibration and the almost negligible dip of the floor. “Back of a truck.”

“Very smart.”

The voice confirmed her suspicion. “Hello again, David Morgan.”

His heavy footsteps continued, sending the clang of metal echoing in the tight space each time his feet landed.

She didn’t bother to watch him. She already knew she couldn’t see anything beyond the blinding spotlight.

When the focus of the spotlight shifted, she turned and watched as his silhouette slowly appeared while her eyes adjusted.

She kept her eyes on him until she noticed the tiny red glow beside the spotlight.

He wasn’t working alone. Someone else was watching.

“I hope my reaction didn’t disappoint.”

“I love breaking people down. I haven’t had a feisty one for quite a while now.”

Taunt him.

Evelyn snorted and smiled. “Is this the only way you can feel good about yourself? Did mommy bullied you? Is that why—Oh no, you didn’t have a mom. So…Daddy disapproves?”

“Shut up!”

She was glad her captive was an absolute moron. She was merely guessing, but his reaction gave her the answer she needed.

“What did he say about you? Hmm, let me guess…that you’re stupid?”

Her cage suddenly came alive as David Morgan rammed his feet against it. The cage throbbed and a buzz filled her ears.

She’d expected his violent reaction and shifted away from the cage before his leg hit it. “So this is the only way you can deal with women? Absolute control? Is this the only way women pay attention to you? Tying them up to chairs or locking them up in a cage. Sad, really.”

His silence confirmed her suspicions about the chair.

The inevitable would come.

If the chair were the usual set up, then this cage was meant for her. She’d no doubt he knew every single detail about her past. Amy would have given it up for a few quick bucks.
 

The torture would soon follow.
 

Just keep him talking.

The torture would come, but if she could keep this idiot talking, she could delay it.

“I can have anyone I want,” David Morgan suddenly said.

“Not everyone. I can easily name three you’ll never have and one who can’t wait to get away from you. She has something important, doesn’t she? That’s why I’m here. Lydia found her and she got beaten up. I went to look for her and now we’re here. She’s going to help me. Even if you keep me here, my friends will find her, and she’ll help me.”

David Morgan burst out laughing. “If you’re relying on her, then you’re done for. She knows what’s happening; she doesn’t know the details, but she knows what’s going on. Yet, all she asked of me when she got her hands on the evidence was to let her leave. She didn’t even get her wish. She’s still my pet. That’s the kind of person she is. Weak and pathetic.”

“Like you? Daddy’s pet, weak and pathetic?”

“I’m her owner! I own her!”

“No, you don’t. She was alone. She didn’t think anyone could help her. She believed me when I told her that we could and we would. I could see it in her eyes. She needed hope, and I gave it to her.”

“And when she realizes what happened to you, which she will, she’ll watch out for herself and forget all about you.”

If this had happened a year ago, Evelyn would have believed that.
 

She would believe Melissa wouldn’t think twice about self-preservation. She would believe she was all alone and her time was up.

But everything had changed.

Tyler, Joseph, and Ryan weren’t just Kate’s friends; she’d thought them to be just that. Now she understood that they didn’t protect her because she hadn’t allowed it. The walls she’d built had served her so well for so many years that she didn’t give anyone else a chance.
 

But even when her walls were still up, they had gone ahead to help her without being asked.

“That’s the problem when you’ve only one person whom you can’t trust to rely on. Even if Melissa doesn’t come for me, Dan and Kate will. Everyone back at the house will do everything to bring me home. While you, you’ll only have someone watching remotely, never approving.”

Just then, his phone rang and he hurried to answer it. The call lasted a few seconds, and he didn’t say a word throughout it.

“Daddy calling? Disapproving of something again?”

“Shut up.”

David Morgan moved to the corner of the truck and bent over a duffle bag.
 

She hadn’t noticed the bag until now. She’d dragged it out as long as she could. It was time.
 

A tangling sensation ran down her spine, and she couldn’t help but shiver.
 

Don’t be afraid.

She scoffed at the voice. Don’t be afraid?

She’d lived through the nightmare once. She’d felt the sting of electricity racing across her body, she’d felt the cuts and still remembered the sensation of her warm blood trickling down her wounds.
 

She was older now. Her capacity to handle pain would probably be better, but it was impossible to shake the fear.

He’s coming for you. Keep talking.
 

The whole situation was so absurd that she hadn’t realized she was speaking to herself, or her gut. Whatever it was, the voice was right at the office. She’d ignored it then and ended up here.

She wanted to heed the advice, but she didn’t know what to say.

The fear was raging wild under her placid exterior and she couldn’t think.

For the first time in years, she closed her eyes and prayed.
God, if you’re out there, please help me,
she thought.
Tell me what to say…

Taking in a deep breath, she ignored the chilliness of her skin. She opened her mouth, not having a word or sentence prepared. “Your father is smart, coming up with this truck idea after you screwed up.”

That immediately caught his attention.

“I came up with this idea! I was careful! I didn’t screw up!”

She gave him a condescending laugh. “Oh, please. You did.” She didn’t allow herself to stare at him. The presence of the bag of torture tools brought back too many nightmares.
 

She had made sure she removed all fear from her face, but she didn’t trust her eyes. She couldn’t risk letting David Morgan detect any ounce of fear, so she kept her face away.