Every Last Breath (13 page)

She kept the car running as the flurries danced through the parking lot. She made a thermos of hot chocolate to keep him warm and packed a snack in case he got hungry. In reality though, what kid was going to stop having fun to eat? No five year old she knew. But still, providing basics made her feel like a good mother.

Maggie closed the car door and waved to Mrs. Gable. She had forgotten her first name and didn’t want to ask. These things were always so sensitive. Eli had taken off and was dragging his sled behind him as he hurried toward Thurston.

Mrs. Gable stood by her mini-van unloading her youngest.

“Thank you for the invite. He needed this.”

“Oh it’s no problem. They are so hyped up for Christmas I figured this would get a little energy out of them.”

“Have you finished your shopping?”

Maggie shook her head, not exactly. “Well don’t forget to buy yourself something. Mom’s typically lose out.”

“That’s true.”

              She hugged Eli and kissed him on his rosy cheek. “Be good and listen to what the adults say. And don’t wander off.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

              Pike’s Peak was breathtaking. Maggie had to get a closer look. She threw on her oversized coat, the one with deep pockets, and whistled for Vala. The two headed outside just as Maggie sorted through the mail. Anything interesting was placed in her pocket the rest would be trashed when she got back.

              Vala stayed in stride as Maggie pocketed a letter from NY, probably an invoice as she was still paying for her divorce. The only other interesting piece was a small blue envelope addressed to Eli. It looked like a party invite from a school friend, the post mark was Colorado Springs. She knew he would want to open it up when he got home.

              Speaking of invites, what was she going to do for Christmas? Maybe she should just ask Ben if he wanted to come by Christmas Eve; that would open up the conversation for possibilities.  In fact, since he was stopping by later, she could ask him to come bake cookies. She hadn’t made them in years and her mom had a wonderful recipe.

              Maggie swallowed hard when she remembered what happened when Jack came to her mother’s. Eli was just a baby. She and her mom were in the kitchen kneading the batter and laughing when Jack wandered in. He had been drinking all day, nothing hard, just beer after beer. When he looked at Maggie, she recognized the darkness in his eyes. His entire face had changed, as if his anger had morphed him into a different form. He leaned up against the doorway and just watched her. Maggie felt his cold stare as if he were hunting her in a game.

              “Jack, how’s work going? Maggie’s told me that you…,”

              “Do yourself a favor don’t listen to a word she says,” he sneered, the hate dripping off his lips

              Maggie’s shoulder’s tightened.               She held onto the counter as he drew near.

              “You’re a lying little snake, aren’t you?” He moved around her like a slithering venomous reptile. “Spreading more bullshit to your own mother, like the true bitch you are.”

              Her mother spoke up. “Jack, whatever you thought you heard,”

              “Get your coat, we are leaving.”

              Maggie composed herself. She had been telling her mom about the changes in his personality and how quickly they came. But she never imagined this type of display. She was completely embarrassed.

              “She’s not going anywhere until you calm down.” Her mother stepped between the two.

              Jack slammed his fists on the counter beside Maggie. “It’s all right mom. We have a long drive ahead of us today.”

              Her mother stood there with a look of shock. “But we haven’t even had Christmas dinner.”

              “Another time,” she sighed. Maggie’s composure was stoic and methodic, as she had learned to be.

              She had revisited that episode only once during a group session at a women’s shelter. Whenever she envisioned standing up to Jack she also foresaw his reaction. Even in her sleep, she wrestled with him.

              Vala stopped and stared into the woods. Maggie took a few steps before realizing she had day dreamed to Christmas past. The woods were silent— an eerie silent, like in her dream. She closed her eyes, putting her faith entirely in Vala. She listened to the clank of the random birch branches as they mingled in the soft wind. The snow had stopped falling an hour earlier, leaving only a dusting by the house. 

              As she stood in the forest, she breathed out slowly, exhaling any fear that her past had brought upon her. Two more deep breaths and she was almost clear of it. Just then a Black hawk lifted off a branch, cawing its way across the woods. Maggie jolted. The surprise caught her off guard and her pulse heightened. Hyper vigilance or not, what caused her to be so brave to walk this far? She put the mail back in her pocket and trudged uphill.

              When the house came into view, Maggie surveyed the backyard. Snow had gathered around the posts of her neighbor’s fence. Eli loved to sled down the hill but after three or four runs, Maggie was usually exhausted from the incline. The altitude was over 9300 feet, so the air was thin. When she had enough, she would head inside and watch from the basement door or sit outside beneath the second floor porch. Ben however, would have a blast with Eli. She smiled at the thought of them hanging out more. Eli needed a role model and the fact that she trusted Ben made him all the more perfect for the job.

              With a grin painted across her face, she stamped her feet on the basement mat and prepared to unlock the door. The wind picked up and Maggie heard the rattle of aluminum. She saw a crushed another can of 404 beer toggling between a chair and the outdoor bin where Eli kept his toys.

              With lightning speed she ran to the front of the house and opened the garage door. She ripped off the trash can lid, and dug through the garbage to the debris Ben picked up two nights ago. There it was. And entire pack of beer cans. She hauled the garbage to the curb and dialed Ben. Her hands were shaking. She paced back and forth with Vala by her side.  Her thought wandered to Eli, had Jack followed her to the sledding hill was he there with Eli? She ran inside the house to get her wallet and keys. Rushing through the kitchen she swiped the mail off the counter and searched for the manila envelope from her attorney. She tore it open, realizing it was not an invoice.

              Scanning the letter, she read the opening sentence, Maggie it is with great regret I write to inform you that your ex-husband Jack has been released from prison. The letter fell to the floor as she whipped around and stormed out to the car.              Ben’s voicemail picked up, and she sent an emergency text. With her eyes on the road she sped toward town, praying Eli was safe. She called Thurston’s parents, but no one answered. Pounding her fists on the steering wheel, she laid on the horn and swerved around oncoming traffic.

              Maggie flew up the pass and took a right in town as she zoomed farther up towards Pike’s Peak. Two miles and the turn off to the park would emerge. She prayed loudly asking God to protect her son. She dared not call again, then the phone rang. It was Ben. She pressed talk and was too frantic to explain what was happening.

              “Ben!”

              “What’s the matter?”

              Her tears blurred her vision.  “Jack’s out. He got out. He’s here.”

              “Maggie, are you sure?” he asked in disbelief.

              “Yes, my attorney notified me today.”

She slammed on the horn and passed a delivery truck in the slow lane.

“I’m on my way.”

Maggie tossed the phone to the passenger seat and pulled into the park. She scanned the parking lot for the maroon minivan, but most of the lot cleared out. Where were they? Maggie tried not the panic. Had she missed their call?

She ran out of the car yelling his name. She rushed down the hill, passing the remaining sledders, asking anyone if they had seen a little boy in a blue jacket.

She shouted over and over, “Eli, Eli. Eli where are you?”

Some parents headed her way but no one had seen him. She asked about Thurston and the family he was with. But no one knew anything. She spun around and headed back up the hill.

The peak was clouded over with the snow storm. The roads would get icy in less than an hour. She sped out of the lot, and raced into town. She redialed Ben, though her fingers barely dialed. She shouted into the phone. “Eli’s not there. He’s not there. He vanished.”

“Maggie breathe. Where are you?” He did his best to calm her.

“I’m at Skyview Park. Eli was invited to go sledding. I dropped him off at noon.”

“Did you call the parents?”

“Yes, I called. I’ve been calling. No one is answering.”

Maggie came to the light. As the snow started to thicken. Her wipers washed away the snow as her defrost warmed the window. “Please God, help me find my son.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The police arrived at Maggie’s home in under five minutes. A detective from the Springs had already been notified of her ex-husbands release and Maggie’s lawyer was doing everything he could to pull some strings.

The driveway looked like a crime scene as Ben consoled Maggie. He started a fire and kept her warm while the police tracked the yard and used their dogs. Vala stayed perched by the window behind the kitchen table. An officer from the Springs was going to the Thurston’s home to see if the boy was with the family and there was some sort of misunderstanding. Until that was ruled out there was nothing to do but wait.

Maggie kept her eyes on Vala. The dog never made eye contact, she just watched as the men scoured the property and traipsed through the woods. She was the only one who knew what actually happened around the house. She’d know if Jack was there.

“Do you think she’s seen him?”

With lips trembling, Maggie looked at Ben. “I’m afraid to answer that. Because if she has, it means he’s been here, to my house. Then this is not a nightmare, it’s real. And my son may be gone forever.”

He leaned over and held her against him as she sobbed slowly into his chest. The dispatch radio kept clicking as the detective made his way through the house. He had taken down the number to the school, teachers, playdates, anyone who might have seen Eli or had contact with his dad.

The neighbors started gathering in the street, the phone kept ringing. Claire called twice, her texts now buzzing in every five minutes. “Have you found him?”

Maggie chucked her phone across the room. “Where are they?” she screamed.

Detective Brant stood before Maggie. “We’ve swept your computer and there’s no trace of a bug.”

She nodded.

       “And you’re sure you have kept off all social media, there’s no way he could find you?”

“I’ve been very careful. This was planned, I knew what to do.”

“What about friends or relatives.”

“No. No one knows where we are. Not even my mother.”

“You’ve seen the movies Maggie. He can track anything. A noise in the background, a discussion about the weather. Car records, taxes, an email.”

“No. I closed everything.”

Ben interrupted. “What about your publisher? Isn’t someone in accounting still sending you a check?”