One You Never Leave (13 page)

Luke let out a small sigh of relief that Sam Dougherty was now gone.

Anglotti swung to face him with a notepad in his hand. “Now, tell me everything you know about who might have kidnapped your wife.”

Kidnapped

Emily
rode blindfolded in the back of a car. That’s all she knew. She had no idea who took her or where she was going or what they were going to do. At least being blindfolded might be a good thing. She remembered from crime shows that if the criminals didn’t expect to return you they wouldn’t blindfold you.

She shivered, cold, deeply frightened, and missing the strong arms of her husband. She focused on breathing, trying to stay calm for the sake of the baby, knowing if she got too anxious her blood pressure would soar and could cause more problems.

The baby kicked furiously, as if agreeing with her.

At least she had the use of her hands. The first thing she did was fiddle with her phone’s audio to turn it off. This was another thing she remembered from crime shows, that a cell phone always rang at the wrong time. She had to think hard about which button was which, but apparently she had nothing but time. The drive seemed to last forever.

She was exhausted. Her heart pounded in her chest and her ears rang. She hoped she would be okay on so many different levels—her health
and
her safety. Why were they after her anyway? If this had something to do with Evan, she was going to kill him with her bare hands. She’d have this baby in prison if she had to. “Please, God. Let me stay okay for the baby.”

It was all too much. Why was she kidnapped? Who would do this? Why were they driving such a long time? She couldn’t help it. Emily couldn’t keep her eyes opened any more. Her exhaustion took hold and the warmth of the car lulled her to sleep. She felt her head fall slowly against the cool window.

“Baby, what’s wrong?”

She found herself in the same field as a previous dream. Luke sat next to her on the soft grass. The sun was setting, but the air was still warm.

“Baby,” said Emily. “I don’t know where I am.”

“It’s okay. You’re here.” Luke took her hand and pressed it to his heart.

“I’m frightened. I want to go home.”

“I know, sweetheart. You have to stay strong. It’s not just us anymore.” He placed his hand on her stomach. “He needs us to be strong.”

Her eyes jerked open as the car lurched to a stop. The door opened, and a hand touched her arm. “Come on, now.”

“Where are we?” She felt desperate, that, if she went where this unseen man wanted, she was walking further away from her life.

“It’s better if you don’t know. I’ll hold your arm. You just follow.” It was silly to think this, but the man’s voice and manner was almost kind. But he was a kidnapper, holding her against her will.

“I want to go home.”

He pulled her arm harder. “You should know by now that’s not happening. Come on. It’s fucking cold out here and I want to get inside.”

The cold was no lie. An icy breeze whipped up, causing her to shudder. Emily couldn’t feel the sun on her. It must be night by now.

The man was pulling her harder now, and she had to follow or she would stumble. She couldn’t image how much more a fall would screw her up, so she did her best to follow. When she stumbled on uneven pavement, the man kept her upright. He stopped and a rush of warm air greeted her.

“Inside,” he said. Once again he led her, though this time she felt warmth close around her and the sounds of being outside, traffic, birds, and wind, were shut out. The floor under here was even and felt carpeted. Doors opened and closed, though those sounded far away. A card sliding home and a beep confirmed that she was in a hotel.

She was led across more carpet.

“Here,” he said, “is the bed. Put your feet up. The doctor will be here in a few minutes.”

Alarm shot through Emily. What would they have a doctor do?

“Don’t harm my baby,” gasped Emily.

“Keep that blindfold on,” the man said roughly.

“You’re not taking my baby!” she shouted as the door shut, and she had a feeling she was alone. Emily tore off the mask and found the room in total darkness. She reached around, trying to find something, anything to help her. She fumbled for the light on the table she felt near the bed, but it wouldn’t turn on. She briefly considered moving around the room to find a light switch, but she couldn’t see anything and was afraid she’d trip and fall. Feeling around the table for a telephone, she rejoiced when her hands reached it, but deflated just as quickly when there was no dial tone.

Though she didn’t like it, she was forced to sit on the bed and wait.

Fear caused her heart to race, and her nerves formed a sickening knot in the hollow of her stomach. She hadn’t eaten since breakfast, feasting on her mother’s doughnuts, but now her stomach grumbled and she felt lightheaded.

This was not good.

She heard fumbling at the door and quickly put the blindfold back on. She didn’t want to lower her chances of going home by seeing something or someone she shouldn’t.
Please, Lord. Let someone pick up on my cell phone signal.

A light switch flicked and the edges of her blindfold were filled with a bright glow.

“Good. You know how to follow instructions.”

Emily gritted her teeth. The last thing she wanted was to follow any of these animal’s instructions.

“The doctor here is going to look you over. Cooperate and I’ll get you something to eat.

Emily’s stomach grumbled, but the last thing she wanted was to eat anything this criminal gave her.

A blood pressure cuff was looped over her arm, and she felt the squeeze as the doctor pressed a stethoscope to the inside of her elbow and pumped up the cuff. He grunted as he took the stethoscope away from her arm.

“Your blood pressure is high.”

“What do you expect?” spit Emily. “You kidnapped me from my own home!”

“Your heart rate is high.”

“What don’t you understand about being kidnapped?”

“I’m giving you some Demerol to calm you. I can’t have you stroking out.”

“Take me home and I’ll be fine.”

“Sorry. That’s not on the menu.”

Emily didn’t like the man’s unprofessional tone. What kind of ‘doctor’ could this be? Not someone who had a respectable practice or worked in a hospital. She didn’t trust him or anything he wanted to do to her. “I’m not taking any of your drugs.”

“Sweetheart, you need ‘em. You don’t want to stroke out, do you?”

“No,” said Emily, her voice trembling. “But I don’t want anything that would hurt my baby either.”

“A little Demerol won’t hurt your child. And after that I’ll give you the blood pressure medicine you should have. You’re high-risk Emily, which is why the boss hired me.”

“Who’s this boss,” spit Emily angrily. “I want to talk to him.”

“You will,” said the other man in the room. “He has some business to take care of, but he’ll be here soon. And then we can get going.”

“Quiet, asshole. Don’t upset her any more than she is.”

“Where are we going?” said Emily.

He held her arm down and she flinched from a pinch. “Somewhere safe.”

“Safe would be anywhere but here…” The
room began to spin. This wasn’t like the medicine they gave her at the hospital. Emily lapsed in and out of wakefulness. Time became meaningless. The door opened and closed many times.

“Why isn’t she awake?”

“She fine, just reacted a little more strongly than—”

“Unacceptable. You’re supposed to know what you’re doing.”

“I do. Everyone’s different. Her blood pressure has come down. That’s why I gave her the medicine.”

Emily heard herself moan and tried to cover her mouth. Who were these people? What did they want? This was bad. So dangerously bad. She needed to be home. “Luke,” she murmured.

“What did she say?”

“Luke. She keeps calling his name.”

“That’s her husband.”

“I have to go home,” she muttered and tried to roll over. “The stew’s burning.”

“What the hell’s she muttering about? Is she okay? The boss wants her and the baby in one piece.”

Who was this ‘boss’ they kept talking about?

A moment of lucidity washed over Emily when they mentioned the baby. What did they want with him? They weren’t going to take him, were they? “Don’t hurt my baby. I’ll rip your hearts out if you try.”

Someone laughed. “No one’s going to hurt your baby.”

It was all too much. The room spun again, and men she didn’t know wouldn’t let her go home. Her cheeks were wet, and she brought her hands to her face to wipe it away. But it kept coming, and she realized she was crying.

“You’ve upset her,” said one man roughly. Emily thought it might be the voice of the doctor.

“It’s your job to keep her calm.”

“Then get the fuck out of here.”

“Here,” said the other man, rattling a paper bag. “I brought some food.”

“Yeah, great. Greasy burgers and fries. Wonderful stuff for a pregnant woman. Is there anything to drink? She shouldn’t have the salt. I’ve seen her medical report.”

“I’ll get something to drink.”

“Good. Make sure at least one of them doesn’t have any caffeine. In fact, bring some bottles of cold water.”

“Right.”

A strong arm went around Emily’s shoulder and she tried to jerk away. The strong arm stayed. “Here, let me help you sit up.”

“Leave me alone.”

“Don’t be like that. You must be hungry and you need to eat.”

“I don’t want to.”

“For your baby. You have to eat for your baby.”

Emily did her best to sit, and the doctor helped her. It was difficult because her swollen belly made sitting up from lying down difficult. Even with help, she felt like a beached whale.

“Here, I put a couple more pillows in back of you. Now you can sit.”

“Sure,” murmured Emily.

“Try this.” Emily’s nose wrinkled at the smell of greasy bread and meat.

“It smells awful,” she said as she gagged.

“Try a little. Here, I’ll break off a small bit. Take this.” He held some of the burger to her lips and she took it in. It smelled worse than it tasted. “That’s good,” encouraged the doctor as he continued to feed her like she was a small bird. “We’ll get you something better for breakfast.”

Dear God, please let Luke find me soon
, Emily prayed. She hoped it was one prayer that would be answered.

A Secret Shared

Evan
Waters was wild-eyed when Anglotti questioned him. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Luke stared at Emily’s old boyfriend through the glass, with his arms crossed. He wanted to break that glass down and hop over and pound that arrogant jerk’s face in. But he also knew that he was here on sufferance, a special privilege granted by Anglotti, so he needed to remain calm. His phone buzzed in his pocket. Drawing it out, he didn’t recognize the number.

“Hello, Luke here.”

“This is Sam. Sam Dougherty. I got your number from Angela.”

This was a surprise.

Emily’s father’s voice was different somehow. Chastened maybe, or just more quiet. Perhaps it was because he was still at the hospital. Luke heard the background noises of announcements and beeps you’d hear in an institutional setting.

This was a surprise.

“How is Mrs. D?”

“She’s shaken, but she’ll be fine. Listen, Luke. I have to tell you something.” The man became quiet, long enough so Luke thought the call dropped, but the counter for the length of time ticked on.

“Mr. D?”

“Yes, I’m still here. Someone came by the apartment today while you were gone.”

“Yeah?”

“I think, given his history, maybe the police should look into him.”

“Who?” said Luke. He was trying to remain calm, but, given the circumstances, he was ready to blow like a rocket at any minute.

“Rob Gibson. He said he came by to discuss your deceased employee’s bike, but I don’t think so.”

“Why is that, Mr. D?” Luke tried hard to stay calm to make sense of everything. How had everything gotten so fucked up? Why was Rob Gibson at his apartment? Luke tapped the tip of his boot against the floor, waiting for Sam Dougherty’s achingly slow answer.

“You have to understand that when we knew him in high school, he wasn’t particularly stable. He was always in trouble, not like his brother. Little stuff, you know, but—”

“Why do you think the police should investigate him? He has nothing to do with Emily.”

“Yes. He does.” There was another long silence. “He’s Emily’s father.” The last words were so choked that Luke could barely make them out. But when he realized what Sam Dougherty had said, shock washed over Luke.

Gibs’ brother was Emily’s father? The jerk who was bothering Helen?

One of the things that upset Emily about Sam was that he refused to discuss her biological father with her. That and his treatment of her, like she was a loose cannon ready to go off, created a wide gulf between father and daughter.

“What do you mean he wasn’t particularly stable?”

“Amanda tried to talk to him for weeks, but he kept pushing her off, or wouldn’t take her calls. She cornered him at prom, but he ran off when she told him.”

“And he never tried to get in touch with her, or Emily, in all this time?”

“He called once, on Emily’s first birthday, after we were married, but I hung up on him. Not since then. No.”

“And he showed up at my apartment today?”

“That’s what Amanda said. She’s very upset about it.”

“I can imagine. Does Emily know?”

“About Rob? No. And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell her.”

Luke bit back the remark that came to mind—that he couldn’t tell Emily anything, not while she was missing. “I can’t make any promises about that, Sam. She’s my wife, and we don’t keep things from each other.”

Sam Dougherty sighed loud enough for Luke to hear. “Yes, I guess you’re right. Secrets only seem to hurt.”

Luke was glad that Sam realized that, but that wasn’t going to help find Emily. A little too late. “Okay. Thanks for telling me. I’ll tell the police. They might call you.”

“That’s fine. Anything to help bring my girl back home.”

My girl.
What could Luke say to that? “Bye, Mr. D.” Luke hung up the phone and shook his head. Clearly Sam Dougherty loved Emily, the daughter of another, yet claimed as his own. It was too bad that, in trying to protect her from the wrongs done to her by her biological father, Sam Dougherty created a rift between him and Emily.

How would he feel if his own child turned him away like Emily did to the man who raised her? There were no easy answers to that and in the end Luke had no say about that issue. Still, when he got Emily back he’d let her know how torn up her father was that she was missing.

Still the question remained. Was Rob Gibson responsible for Emily’s kidnapping? He didn’t know enough about the man to say.

“Fuck you!” screamed Evan.

Luke’s eyes snapped back to the mirror. Anglotti leaned aggressively over the table that separated him and Evan. Waters leaned away with his head turned to the side.

“I have nothing to do with this! I’ve been working. Two jobs, yeah. So even if I wanted to kidnap Emily, I wouldn’t have the fucking time.”

He turned his head to stare at Anglotti. “So, asshole, either charge me and call my lawyer, or let me the hell out of here.”

Anglotti
walked out of the interview room, and Luke moved to meet him in the hall.

“Well, he’s good and worked up,” said Anglotti with a sneer. “But I don’t think he has anything to do with this. I’ll let him sit in the tank to calm down.”

“What makes you think he didn’t take Emily?”

“You heard him. He was surprised to hear she was gone. And then he blamed you for not taking care of her.”

No. Luke did not hear him. He was too busy talking to Emily’s father. “What a prince,” said Luke. “And what about Icherra?”

“We’re still looking for him.”

“The police?” asked Luke, cocking an eyebrow.

“No. Not just the police. My uncle was beside himself to hear about this whole thing. He’s got the crew keeping an eye out.”

A door open and closed at the end of the hall and two men walked toward them, their footfalls clicking on the lime green linoleum. One was an older middle-aged man, with a beer gut that wasn’t concealed by his suit jacket, and the other a man who appeared to be in his thirties, with medium brown hair and brown eyes. His dark gray suit and dark blue tie seemed to clash with his complexion.

“Fuck,” said Anglotti under his breath. He pulled his head up and smiled. “What’s up, Captain?”

The older man turned to the other standing with him. “This is Special Agent Randolph Webb. He’s assigned to the Wade case.”

“That was quick,” said Anglotti, extending his hand. “Lou Anglotti, and this is Luke Wade, the victim’s husband.”

Webb’s eyes swept over Luke, his expression cool and unreadable. “Wade? I thought his name was Icherra.”

“There’s a story to that,” said Anglotti. “But the community here has known him as Luke Wade since he was a child.”

“You were questioning him.”
This is bullshit!
Who does this ass-hat think he is?
Luke was tired of being talked about like he wasn’t there, but he reminded himself he was there only with his promise to keep his cool. This was getting very difficult, especially since his level of anxiety was rising every minute they didn’t find Emily. He wanted to find his wife; who gave a fuck about anything else?

“Mr. Wade gave his statement.”

“I see,” said Webb. “I’m here as an advance man. The FBI team on kidnappings will be here as soon as we can bring them in. We’ll have to set up a base at your house, Mr. Wade.”

“I have an apartment.”

“And do you have a landline?”

“No. We each have our smart phones. No need for a landline. I do have a landline at my business.”

“And does your wife have her phone on her?”

“I’m not sure. When all this happened I wasn’t allowed into my apartment, so I couldn’t see if it was there.”

“I see. Is there an inventory of the crime scene? Let’s check to see if a phone was there.”

The man was sure fond of saying ‘I see,’
Luke thought. It also didn’t escape him how quickly the man took over the situation.

“And have you interrogated anyone else?”

“We have Mrs. Wade’s ex-boyfriend in custody. He doesn’t seem to know anything, though he just asked for a lawyer.”

Webb’s eyes narrowed. “Where is he now?”

“In the interrogation room.”

“Keep him there and get me that inventory. Thank you, Captain. I’m sure I can take it from here. Mr. Wade, can I have a few words with you?”

Bang, bang, bang. Webb had everyone hopping to his tune. Anglotti opened another interrogation room and Webb pointed the way to Luke. Reluctantly, Luke entered and then turned to Webb.

The agent looked at Luke and stared at him like he was a subject. The seconds ticked away and Luke realized with a sour chuckle that this was this man’s method of unsettling a person he planned on interrogating.

“You’ve got something to say, Agent Webb, say it.”

Webb’s nostrils flared. Luke didn’t take his eyes off him. “I’ve got a very thick file on you, Icherra. I’ve done nothing but read it on my way in from Washington.”

“Washington, eh? So I get the A-team?”

“You’re fucking right you got the A- team, Icherra. Just your uncle alone ticks that box. What I want to know is what your part is in all of this.”

“My part? What the fuck do you think my part is? My wife was kidnapped! Out of our home, damn it!”

“It’s unlikely that Emily Rose Dougherty, Miss-girl-next-door-who-never-did-any-wrong, did anything to deserve that, Mr. Icherra. Yes, I read up on her too. Her file’s very thin. Aside from some trouble earlier in the year, the girl is as squeaky clean as a bathtub toy. No, her trouble started when you entered her life, Icherra. So, yeah, you have a part in this. If you want your wife back, you’re going to tell me everything you know.”

Luke scrubbed his face with one hand. Shit. The agent was right. Emily’s life did go to hell the minute he stepped back into it.
Emily, I’m so, so sorry
. What he would give to say those words to her. He had nothing to hide. Luke spread his hands. “What is it you want to know?”

“Where is the money your father took from your uncle?”

“What money?” said Luke.

“Don’t,” growled Webb. “Don’t you play stupid with me, Icherra. One and a half million dollars disappeared from the evidence room, not coincidentally when your father, your mother, and you went into witness protection. So, again, where is that money?”

Is he fucking kidding me?
Luke thought. This is what the agent was worried about? Money missing two decades back? Fury rose and slung out Luke’s next words to Webb.

The very sad thing was that giving up that money would do more to hurt Luke and Emily than keeping it in its hidey hole. This is why Luke didn’t mess with it in the first place. But more than that, admitting to having money gained in a criminal enterprise would destroy his chance of staying in the United States. Webb had to know the stakes involved for Luke in admitting he had the money., “My wife’s missing and you want me to play twenty questions? If I knew anything about this money about which you are speaking—which I don’t—I would give it to you. Shit! I’d have used it long ago. I’ve got a wife about to have a baby, and we have barely a penny saved! I’d give you anything I had if it meant getting my wife back. Because nothing, and I mean nothing, is more important than her.”

Webb didn’t even blink in the face of Luke’s outburst. “You’re real good at playing the victim, Icherra. We both know you’re talking a load of shit.”

“Not when it comes to my wife, asshole. I mean every word. Now, if you’re going to do anything constructive to get my wife back, call me.” Luke pushed past Webb as the agent kept his gaze on him.

“Did you ever think, Icherra, that your wife was kidnapped to hold something over your head for you to give up that money?”

Luke turned, spreading his arms and putting his hands on the door jamb. He glared, knowing his eyes looked more Icherra than Wade. “That better not be the story, Webb. Because it seems to me that a very small number of people, myself not included, know about something that happened twenty years ago. And most of those would be government agents.”