Mistaken Identity (21 page)

Thirty-Nine

At the end of the call, Lucinda turned to Jake. The glazed appearance of his eyes and the soft smile on his lips made Lucinda roll her eyes. She snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Hello, Jake. Please wipe the bliss off of your face and focus your attention in the here and now.”

“Wow! He’s got excellent taste in automobiles.”

“Oh, good grief.”

“I wonder if I could convince him to let me ride with him down to Norfolk.”

“Hello, Jake. We don’t really want him getting to that boat. And we’ve got a real problem here. Where the hell are we going to find a car like that at this time of night?”

“Piece of cake.”

“Oh, Jake, be serious.”

“Oh, I am. I know just who to call.”

“Really?” Ted interjected.

“Oh, sure, driving my dad’s old ’66 Impala Super Sport has put me in touch with a lot of interesting people.”

“A Super Sport? I am impressed. Convertible?” Ted asked.

“Of course! She’s got a 396 under the hood with 325 horses …”

Lucinda interrupted, “Yeah, yeah, yeah. And the ride is as smooth as glass. Much as I’m enjoying this male bonding moment, Jake, don’t you need to make a call?”

Jake turned back to Ted. “No appreciation for the finer things in life.”

“None whatsoever,” Ted agreed.

“Jake!”

“Hey, it’s cool,” Jake said, sliding his cell out of his pocket. “Hey, Grease Monkey, this is Jake. How’s it shakin’?” Jake nodded his head a couple of times and said, “Same ol’ same ol’. I gotta problem that I thought you might be able to help me with – I need to find a car and have it delivered here before daybreak.” Jake ran through the car’s specs and said that he didn’t want to buy a car, just borrow it for a day or two. He nodded a few times while he listened and said, “All right, man, I’ll be waiting.”

“You’ll be waiting? He has a car? Already?” Lucinda asked in amazement.

“No, not yet. But he will. He’ll call back as soon as he finds out which one is available,” Jake said.

“Which one? You mean there’s more than one around here?”

“He knows of several, right here in Virginia. A few more just over the line in North Carolina.”

“You’re kidding?”

“It’s kind of a bummer. You have a sweet machine like that and you like to think you’re the only one but that’s rarely true – there were four other cars just like my dad’s at the last rally I attended.”

“You go to car rallies?”

“Yeah, they’re a lot of fun. You oughta come with me sometime.”

Lucinda rolled her eyes, walked over to Officer Colter and whispered in her ear. Robin spoke to Victoria, who protested at first, but then allowed the officer to lead her upstairs to lie down in her bed. “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep,” Victoria said as she walked up the stairs.

“Don’t you worry about that, Ms. Whitehead. You just stretch out for a bit and rest.”

Lucinda passed through the family room where all of the officers leaned back in recliners and snored quietly in the blue light of the television set. She paused to pick up the remote and power off the TV. She slipped out the French door into the back yard for a breath of fresh air. As she stared up at a hazy moon, she heard the back door open and shut.

“Pretty damn humid out here tonight, isn’t it?” Jake said.

“Ah, summer in Virginia – should call it mildew season. Sometimes I worry if I stand still too long, it’ll start creeping over my toes.”

“Are you doing okay?”

Lucinda snorted. “Yeah, sure.”

“It’s a lot harder when you know the abducted kid.”

“Can’t say I really know him. I’ve been trying to figure him out but …” her voice trailed away, tinged with unspoken regret.

“But you have interacted with him and that makes it harder to hold your center and maintain your balance.”

Lucinda made an ambiguous noise, halfway between a grunt and a growl.

“And then there was that crap with your sister tonight,” Jake added.

“Oh, please, don’t remind me.”

“What’s with that? Why is she so hostile toward you?”

“I don’t know. She’s been that way since Mom was killed. I’ve tried to get through to her but it didn’t seem to make a difference so I finally gave up. She snaps at me when I see her; she judges me and always finds me wanting. You saw her tonight – she has no problem criticizing me anywhere, at any time, to anyone.”

“Why is all this anger directed at you?”

Lucinda shrugged. “Maybe she’s this way with everybody.”

“You think?”

“I don’t know, Jake. Let’s drop it, okay?”

“Sure,” he said, stepping to her side and sliding an arm across her back, cupping his palm around her shoulder.

At his touch, a small electric charge coursed through Lucinda’s body. For a few seconds she felt as if she never wanted the moment to end. She nearly turned to fall into his arms but a tight ball formed in her core and an ugly voiced hissed in her head:
Push him away. Push him away!

She tried to squash her internal nay-sayer and nearly succeeded when they were interrupted by the opening bars of
Born to be Wild
, boogying from Jake’s cell. She looked at him and laughed at his ringtone.

He grinned and shrugged as he answered the call. “That you, Grease Monkey? Got good news for me?” Jake’s browed furrowed, then he shot his arm up in the air and shook a fist at the sky. “Thanks, buddy, I owe you, big time.” He disconnected, raised both arms and shouted, “Yes!”

“What? What? Tell me! He found the car, right?”

“Yesssss! Yes, he found the car. It will be pulling up out front between five and five thirty tomorrow morning.”

Lucinda looked down at her watch. “Correction, Jake – five to five thirty
this
morning.”

“Oh, man, we need to get some sleep.”

They walked inside, taking care not to disturb the sleeping patrol officers. When they reached the living room, they saw that they’d lost the audio guy. He sprawled in his chair, mouth wide open, a pair of headphones balanced precariously on one knee.

Lucinda kicked off her shoes and slid into a chaise next to a narrow floor-to-ceiling shelf of books. Jake tossed her an afghan from the back of the sofa and grabbed the other one for his own use as he stretched out to rest.

She didn’t think she could sleep. Too many dire warnings raced through her head. She had no idea what the new day would bring but she knew it wouldn’t be easy and it wouldn’t be pretty. She stretched the covering over her long legs and closed her eyes.

She awoke with a start and looked at her watch. Four fifteen.
But what woke me?
She listened but heard no sound except for the relaxed light snore coming from the audio guy. She walked in her stockinged feet over to the sofa and looked down at Jake.
He looks even younger when he’s asleep. Doesn’t look old enough to carry a gun.
She sighed and padded into the kitchen to prepare a pot of coffee. Once she got the coffee-maker going, she pulled out the spare carafe – they were going to need more than one pot this morning to get the whole crew up and at ’em.

When the first batch was ready, she poured two mugs, and then paused.
How does Jake like his coffee?
She cast her mind back.
Black – unless there’s half and half available.
She rummaged through the containers on the refrigerator door, emerged victorious and poured a big dollop into one of the mugs. She carried them both into the living room, set them down on the coffee table and crouched down by Jake’s face. “Jake,” she whispered.

He stirred but did not open his eyes.

She spoke a little louder. “Jake!”

His eyes fluttered and a hand reached out to rest on the damaged side of her face.

A tiny gasp escaped her throat. She held her breath, waiting for the recoil of revulsion. It didn’t come. Instead, he caressed her scars and moved his fingers into her hair. She trembled and fought back tears. “Jake,” she whispered.

His eyes opened halfway. “Lucinda.”

The sound of her name on his lips brought a flush to her skin.

He reached out with his other hand and placed it on the opposite side of her face.

She almost relaxed – almost moved to him. She was stopped by an insistent warning in her head.
Not the right place. Not the right time
. In a sharper, more urgent tone of voice, she said, “Jake!”

His eyes flew all the way open. Puzzlement splashed across his face and then was gone. “What time is it?”

“Four thirty. Here, I fixed you a cup of coffee,” she said, handing him the mug.

He took a sip, then pulled back the mug and looked inside. “Mmm, you remembered the half and half.”

“Sure. I like it myself from time to time,” she said with a smile. “Let’s let the rest of them sleep as long as they can.”

They rose to their feet and went out on to the front porch, leaving the door open a crack to hear the phone in case it rang. They sat in quiet harmony, rocking in the wicker chairs, sipping from their cups and enjoying the early morning quiet. Birdsong heralded the rising sun as light made its stealthy spread across the sky. “I’d better go get Ms. Whitehead up. Don’t know when he’ll call but it could be soon,” Lucinda said.

“I’ll wait out here and watch for the car.”

“When it gets here, Jake, please don’t embarrass us all by drooling on your shirt.”

Jake laughed. “Just wait till you see her. She’s a beauty.”

Smiling, Lucinda eased into the house and went upstairs. In Victoria’s bedroom, she was surprised to see Officer Colter stretched out on top of the bedspread, in full uniform, with her hand resting on top of the other woman’s. She walked over to that side of the bed and whispered, “Officer Colter.”

Robin woke instantly. “Sorry. Sorry, Lieutenant. I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I …”

“It’s okay. I’m glad you got some rest. Did she sleep okay?”

“Not at first. But she asked me just to lie down next to her until she drifted off. When I did, she slipped her hand in mine and, minutes later, she was out.”

“Thanks, Colter. That was a kind thing to do. Now, unfortunately, we need to wake her and get her downstairs. The sun is starting to rise and the bastard could call any minute.”

Lucinda walked into the guest bedroom and woke up the liaison officer from the state police. In Freddy’s room, she found Ted curled up in a tight ball. She brushed the hair out of his face and whispered his name. He jumped. “It’s okay, Ted. Sun’s up and there’s coffee in the kitchen.”

He mumbled, “Thanks” as he threw his legs out of the bed.

Lucinda went downstairs, waking the three uniformed officers in front of the TV and moving on to the audio tech. His first words were: “I didn’t miss anything, did I?”

“Not yet,” Lucinda said. “But you’d better hurry to the kitchen before all the coffee is gone.” She was walking towards the porch when a whoop rang out She opened the door and spotted Jake doing a crazy jig down the sidewalk toward the screaming red car at the curb.

“Isn’t she a beauty?” he squealed.

“Jake, you’re drooling!”

He placed both hands over his heart and said, “How could I not?”

Lucinda laughed. “I’m going to get everyone together so we can run over what we might expect and see if we can work out a scenario for each possibility.”

“I’ll be right there.”

Lucinda herded the still sleepy team into the family room, grabbed a fresh cup of coffee and returned just as Jake entered the room from the other doorway and gave her the thumbs-up sign.

“Okay. The car is here,” she said.

The men in the room stirred as if ready to jump up and check it out.

“Wait. You can go see it in a minute. Let’s just hash things out first.” She heard a couple of sighs as they all settled back down. She entertained theories, answered questions and expressed the confidence that they all could handle whatever situation arose – and hoped what she said was true.

When she finished, the men surged like one big beast outside to ogle the Camaro. She watched from the doorway as they took turns sliding behind the wheel, ran loving hands across the hood and just stood back and stared.

A harsh ring jarred Lucinda from her relaxation. “Telephone,” she shouted and the men scrambled away from the car and up the walk. She raced across the living room, donned her headphones and flipped on the recorder as the audio tech skidded to a halt, muttering, “Thanks.”

Lucinda gave him a sharp nod and a smile and then looked over to Victoria, repeating the gestures. . Victoria cleared her throat, reached for the receiver and said, “Hello?”

Forty

“Listen up, Victoria, and listen good,” Jason said.

To everyone’s surprise, Victoria bounded to her feet and shouted in a shrill voice, “No, you listen, Jason, or whoever you are. I want to speak to my grandson and I want to speak to him now.”

Lucinda and Jake frantically shook their heads but Victoria would not look in their direction.

“Shut up. You will do what I say if you ever want to see him again!”

“You’ve killed him, haven’t you?”

Lucinda waved her arms violently but still could not get Victoria’s attention. Robin stepped up, put an arm around the woman’s shoulder and whispered in her ear. Victoria shrugged her off, her eyes wide, her breath fast and furious.

“He’s fine, woman. You want to see him, you listen to me.”

“No. I don’t believe you. I don’t believe anything you say. You let me speak to Frederick right now or I’m hanging up.”

“Have it your way,” he said and slammed down the receiver.

The echo of the disconnected call wiped the color from the faces of all the listeners in the room except for Victoria’s – her face blossomed in a bright red. “Don’t you hang up on me! You have to talk to me. Get back on the phone!”

Robin eased the receiver out of Victoria’s clenched fingers and threw an arm around her again. Victoria burst into gut-wrenching sobs as Robin eased her back down on to the sofa.

Lucinda and Jake looked at each other, removed their headphones and walked out to the front porch. “So, what now?”

“We sit and hope he calls back and hope he doesn’t take it out on Freddy.”

Jason boiled with rage. He stretched out his arms and ran them across the nearest counter, sending canisters, salt and pepper shakers and cookbooks crashing to the floor. When the container of flour hit the vinyl, its lid popped off, sending a white cloud into the air, enraging Jason even further.

He walked to the wood stove, grabbed an iron skillet and flung it in the general direction of his bound hostages. They all ducked even though it flew through the air far from their heads, crashing into a window in the wall behind them, shattering glass and thudding to the ground outdoors.

Stunned by his fury, the wide-eyed trio could only watch as he pulled objects off counters and utensils out of drawers and threw them across the room. Frank cringed as a spatula bounced off his head. Martha’s muffled cry escaped through the duct tape as she saw Jason pick up her prized blown-glass rooster and send it soaring through the air. Freddy tried to move his head out of the way but he wasn’t quick enough. The fragile figurine smacked into his forehead and exploded into pieces. A sliver sliced his eyebrow, sending a narrow, persistent streamlet of blood across his cheek and around the duct tape and down to his chin where it dripped on to his shirt.

Jason walked over to Freddy and chucked him in the side of his head. “Why didn’t you duck, moron? Look at the mess you’re making. Damn it – I should have just killed you right away. You’re more trouble than you’re worth. Okay, Miss Martha. I’m gonna untie you so you can tend to this boy. But you try anything and I’ll kill him and your husband, too. You understand?”

Martha nodded her head. Jason unfastened her legs and arms from the chair and then untied her hands. He left the duct tape in place. Martha didn’t dare reach up and pull it away. She went to a drawer, pulled out a clean dishcloth and ran it under the faucet. At the table, she grabbed a paper napkin.

She folded the napkin in fourths, pressed it against the small cut and held it there with the butt of her left palm. Her right hand used the wet cloth to wipe away the trail of blood. While she worked, she stared into Freddy’s eyes. Her gaze calmed him, slowing both his breath and his pulse rate. She knew what she was doing mattered but it angered her that she could do no more for the frightened boy.

Waiting for the phone to ring again scraped Lucinda’s nerves raw. She tried to stop her mind from racing down nasty little rabbit warrens of ugly possibilities. But as soon as she stopped one negative train of thought, another took its place. She waited ten minutes for her annoyance with Victoria to shift back to pity before speaking to the woman.

“Ms. Whitehead, I understand why you did what you did, but I need you to be aware of the situation.”

“I don’t know what came over me. I hope he doesn’t hurt Frederick because of what I said.” Victoria hung her head and shook with sobs.

Lucinda waited for her to settle down before she continued. “When he calls back, I want you to apologize to him and promise you’ll do anything he says.”

Victoria nodded her head.

“You think you can do that?”

Victoria nodded again. “Yes, if he calls. But what if he never calls again?”

Lucinda stuffed down her own worries on that point and said, “Of course he will. We have what he really wants and he has to call us to get it.”

Lucinda returned to the front porch where Jake still paced. “I talked to her,” she said.

“You think she’ll handle the next call better?”

“She says she will, but I don’t know; desperate loved ones of victims are unpredictable.”

The audio tech stuck his head out the front door. “I only got the area code, the exchange and the first of the last four digits with that last call but I was able to narrow down the area. It’s still pretty big but I thought it might be better than nothing.”

Inside, Lucinda called Ted over. “Could you get hold of the Sheriff’s Departments in Amelia, Cumberland and Powhatan Counties? Run down what we’ve got and tell them you know it’s all vague but if the kidnapper doesn’t call back, they may be our only hope to find the boy.”

“We already have a statewide Amber Alert so I won’t be hitting them cold,” Ted said.

“Good. Thanks, Ted.”

“I want to head out there and drive around,” Jake said.

“C’mon, Jake, you know that would be futile.”

“Yeah, but at least it would be something to do. And, who knows, if I don’t find anything, he might spot me tooling around in that beauty and instigate dialogue again.”

“You do realize the odds against that, don’t you?” Lucinda asked.

Jake ran his fingers across the top of his head. “Yes, yes, of course I do. But, damn it, doing nothing is making me stir crazy.”

“I know. Me, too. Let’s go back outside.”

They tried to sit in the chairs and rock but couldn’t stay still more than a couple of minutes at a time. They took turns jumping up and pacing the porch floor. Lucinda and Jake attempted casual conversation but it always died after a couple of sentences when one or the other drifted off to darker thoughts.

An hour after they returned to the porch, the phone rang. They both jerked like marionettes and dashed inside the house. Donning headphones, Lucinda said, “Ms. Whitehead, are you ready? Remember to stay calm and apologetic, okay?”

Victoria nodded and picked up the receiver. “I’m sorry, Jason. I’m so sorry. I’ll do whatever you say.”

“That’s better.” He laughed. “Now, you want to talk to your grandson so I’m gonna let you.”

A ripping sound tore through the receiver, followed by a yelp.

“What have you done to him?” Victoria jumped up, shrieking.

“Calm down, Ms. Whitehead, calm down,” Lucinda hissed.

Victoria nodded and collapsed back down in her seat.

“Shut up. I just took the tape off his mouth so he could talk to you,” Jason snarled.

“Grandmother?” Freddy said.

“Frederick. Oh, Frederick. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, Grandmother. I’m here at a farm with two nice people …”

“That’s enough. You heard him, now listen to me. You need to go west on Highway Sixty and then turn off on Route Thirteen. If you look in your dresser drawer, Victoria, you’ll see that a bunch of your silk scarves are missing. I took them and used them to mark all the turns from Thirteen to this farm – it’s a nice little spread of bottom land on the Appomattox River, not too far from Tobaccoville. Just look for the scarves flapping in the breeze and you’ll find the place, no problem.

“And tell those cops, no tricks. I saw the boat pull into the slip a little while ago. I’m keeping an eye on it; they try anything funny and I’ll kill the boy and these fine farm folk, too. I’ll know if they try to hide anyone or anything in that boat. Just pull my car up in front of the house and wait. No tricks there either. One of them messes with a car like that and it will be obvious. I see any alterations and they’ll regret what they force me to do. I’ll tell them what to do next after they get here.”

When the connection clicked closed, every law enforcement official shifted into motion. Lucinda turned to the audio tech. “You stay here with the equipment. If he should ring again, call my cell.”

Then she was out the door and in her car. Jake piled into the red Camaro and pulled away from the curb with Lucinda right behind him. Four marked cars – three from the city and one state trooper vehicle – followed in their wake with lights flashing.

In each vehicle, someone picked up a phone and called in updates and requests for reinforcements. Every few miles, another vehicle joined their caravan as it raced toward the three hostages, hope in their hearts, fear in their throats and intensity jangling in their eyes.