Safe at Home (Warm Springs Trilogy Book 1) (24 page)

“I really appreciate you letting me know, Spencer, but as you can see I need to finish packing.” She turned and placed more folded shirts into the bag. “Maybe you should go.” It was taking all she had not to start crying. She could feel her tears beginning to burn at the back of her eyes.

“Sam, we should talk about this.”

“There’s nothing more to say. If he was at the hotel, he’s in town somewhere.” Saying the words aloud made her blood run cold. “I need to lead him away from you and everyone else I’ve grown to care about before something happens.” She shook her head. “God, poor Earl and Betsy and it’s my fault. Somehow, I’ve brought this on all of you even though it’s exactly what I was trying to avoid.” Her voice rose as she started throwing clothes in the bag with more force.

“Sam, wait.”

The sadness in his tone made her stop and look at him. Renewed fear clawed away inside her when she saw the twisted look on his face.

“Jenny’s missing. They’re setting up a search party today. Personally, I think they should’ve started one yesterday, but they have some sort of 24 hour rule.”

“I’m too late.” Turning her back to him, Sam sat on the bed and stared out her bedroom window.

“Sam, it’s not your fault. He’s the crazy one.”

“I know,” she whispered.

“If you want to run, I understand. I’d go with you if it weren’t for Jenny, but I have to help find her. Once we do, maybe I can meet up with you.”

Spencer sat next to her on the bed where they’d spent more than one amazing night together. The best of her life. She thought of the friends she’d made there: all the Malloy’s, Mary, and Jenny, with her happy demeanor and bright smile. Sam shuddered. What would Eric do to her?

“Sam? Did you hear me?”

“I can’t leave when Jenny is out there somewhere. I want to be part of the search party.”

“Sam you don’t have to do that.”

She faced him as a new strength flowed through her. “I do. She’s my friend, too, and I brought this on her. Something like this could happen to you, too. Don’t you understand? This is exactly what happened before. This is how he starts and if the cops don’t find him . . .”

“Sam, I can take care of myself and you, too, if you’d let me.”

“You’d do better to stay away.” She stood and walked to the other side of the bed. She needed some distance from him to say what needed to be said. When he was sitting so close to her, it was too hard to think clearly. What she wanted was to collapse into his arms and let him hold her, but that wasn’t what was best for either of them, or Jenny.

“Sam, I can’t stay away from you.” Spencer took his hat off and slapped it against his thigh.

“You can, you’re just being stubborn. You were doing just fine before you met me and you’ll be just fine after I leave. I’ll help you find Jenny and then I’m going.”

Spencer’s nostrils flared. “Sam, I won’t be fine without you. I was only fine before I met you because I didn’t know what I was missing, but I do now. These last months have been the best of my life. I’ll go with you or you can stay, but I will not give up on us.”

“We’ve been having a good time together and it’s never fun when it ends, but this time it has to.”

Spencer’s face reddened. “
A good time together
? Are you kidding me, Sam? This hasn’t been just a good time. I’ve fallen in love with you. We’re way past a good time and you know it. Now stop packing. I won’t lose you.” Spencer had risen to her challenge and was shouting at her across the bed nearly as loudly as she was shouting at him.

“Well, you have to, because I love you, too, and I can’t live with the thought that I put you in danger.”

Spencer opened his mouth and then faltered. “Wait, you love me?” He stopped glaring at her and stood up a little straighter.

“Of course I do, you big idiot.”

He crossed the room and took her in his arms, crushing her to his chest. “You shouldn’t have told me, now I’ll never let you leave.”

Emotions swirled inside her like a storm.

“We’ll figure this out together.” He pressed his lips to her hair and then pulled back to look at her. “This isn’t the way I wanted to tell you I love you, but I needed you to know.”

Sam clung to him like her life depended on it. “Let’s go find Jenny. She needs us. We’ll figure out what to do next after we get her back.”

Not letting go of her hand, Spencer led her downstairs and out to his truck.

The next few hours were organized chaos. The police herded everyone into groups to cover specific areas. Search dogs sniffed articles of Jenny’s clothing to get ready for the hunt. Pictures of her were being handed out to everyone, even though most people knew her. Her pretty smile and gorgeous blonde hair were hard to forget.

Sam was scared, but more than anything she was angry. She was tired of being so weak. She wanted this finished. She wanted to move on with her life, but most of all she wanted him to pay for Denise and Jenny.
God, Jenny
. She must be so scared. Sam didn’t know how she would live with herself if anything bad happened to her.
Please let her be alive,
Sam prayed over and over to herself.

The whole town was there. The few people who weren’t able to search were manning the phones in case someone called with information. Sam breathed easier knowing Ann and Alex were with the phone crew. She couldn’t stand the thought of them being part of the search. It was all too horrible to process and yet, she didn’t have a choice. The local news ran a story that morning and showed a picture of Jenny smiling in one of her customary suits. It was all too real.

Sam heard the distant sounds of dogs barking and leaves crunched beneath their shoes as she, Spencer, and Jake fanned out over their bit of woods. At least it was fall. They could be grateful for that at least. The underbrush had died down and the trees had lost their leaves, making for an easier view.

Hours passed with no luck. The feeling of determination remained, but now a feeling of dread was creeping up Sam’s spine. Who was to say Jenny was still alive? He’d killed Denise.

She shook her head. No. She would not let herself go down that path. Jenny was going to be okay. Jenny
had
to be okay. Someone blew a whistle three times signaling lunch. The group retreated and regrouped.

“Maybe we aren’t looking in the right area?” Jake offered before taking another bite of his sandwich. “I mean, how many acres of woods are we talking about here? Be serious.”

“We have to start somewhere, brother. We’re going to find her.” Spencer threw a reassuring look to Sam.

“Did you see her parents? They’re beside themselves. They’re usually so pleasant and put together, but this morning. Who does this to someone? What kind of monster . . . ” Jake stopped mid rant and looked at Sam. “I’m sorry. I know this isn’t easy for you. It’s not your fault.” He added after noticing the pained expression on Sam’s face.

“Thanks for saying that, Jake. No word from Ann?”

“None yet. She’s trying to keep the line open, so no news means no word.”

“Gather round people,” the police chief bellowed through a megaphone. Squeezing in, the crowd stood in silence waiting for their next assignments. “We just received word that Jenny’s car has been found and there’s no sign of her.” A hushed murmur flowed through the group and then everyone quieted back down. “The car was found near Mills Park.” Everyone in the group began talking at once and the police chief held up his hands to silence the crowd. “Hold on people, calm down. Now, I realize that area is clear on the other side of town so we’ll make our way over and regroup.”

The crowd found a renewed energy at the new information. She was thankful someone found the car. Hours had already been lost while they searched in the wrong area. Sam rode over in Spencer’s truck sandwiched between the two brothers. No one spoke on the ride over. There was nothing to say that would make any of them feel better. As the trees passed in a blur, Sam wondered if Eric was watching them from the shadows.

Chapter 30

Sam wished she could hold on to Spencer’s hand as they searched, but she knew it wasn’t possible. The volunteers were assigned new areas to cover. They all moved in a line as they worked their way deeper into the woods. Spencer was on her right and a lady who worked at one of the other stores on Main Street was on her left and even though they were both within her line of sight, she couldn’t shake the eerie feeling creeping over her.

Every stick that snapped under her feet made her nerves snap in echo. Normally, she found the woods comforting; the quiet, fresh smell of earth, but today everything was different. The trees were foreboding instead of inviting and the fresh smell had been traded in for one of decay. She took a deep breath to try to even her breathing, but the little hairs on the back of her neck refused to lie down. When crows took off with loud caws as searchers disturbed their perch, Sam stifled a scream.

From the far side of Spencer came the sound of dogs barking in the distance. Their barking wasn’t unusual, but it did seem to be more urgent than it had been earlier. Sam kept moving at the slow observant pace they’d been instructed to keep and tried to focus on looking for something out of place.

“Hey,” Jake bellowed from beside Spencer. “Hey,” he repeated and took off running at a break neck speed.

The dogs started going crazy. Sam followed the direction Jake was running with her eyes and thought there was movement. No, she did see it. Not just it, but him. She saw the outline of a man running. Her heart stopped. She knew. She didn’t have to be any closer. She knew it was Eric.

Everyone began running in the same direction as Jake, but no one could come close to keeping up with him. His head start was too great.

“Sam, stay close to me,” Spencer called over his shoulder.

Up ahead, she could see Jake stop and drop to his knees next to one of the police officers. The other officer’s kept following Eric.

Sam’s legs turned to jelly. She stopped and began walking slowly, out of breath and afraid of what she might see.
Please God don’t let Jenny be dead
.

“Blankets. We need blankets and some water over here,” Jake shouted.

Spencer reached for her hand and her breath rushed out in a fury. Her fingers were icy compared to his. They stopped shy of Jake and the officer and saw matted blonde hair around Jake’s shoulder. She could hear Jake murmuring it was going to be okay, over and over. He turned toward the two of them and asked Spencer if he had a knife. Spencer released her and stepped behind the tree to cut Jenny’s hands loose.

Jenny let out a whimper as her stiff limbs fell to her sides. Jake reached for her and set her on his lap. Sam looked behind her to see the other volunteers starting to form a group. Looks of concern covered all of their faces.

Jake shifted Jenny’s weight and stood, making his way through the small crowd. Sam caught a glimpse of Jenny’s face as they turned and made their way past the onlookers. Tears pooled in her eyes. Jenny’s beautiful face was almost unrecognizable. Her eyes were swollen, almost to the point of being shut. There was dried blood around her mouth and under her nose. Sam couldn’t do anything but stand frozen in place as she watched them pass.

The other volunteers filed out behind them, quietly trekking back through the trees. Someone ran back to the meet up point to pass the word she’d been found and to have an ambulance ready. Distant cheers erupted from the parking lot at their backs.

Sam couldn’t take her eyes off the discarded rope on the ground. The dying embers of a fire, some trash and a couple of empty liquor bottles were all that was left. A hand came to rest on her shoulder. A touch she would know anywhere. It was a small comfort, but she still worried for Jenny and what would come next.

“Hey, Nick, Ryan,” Spencer nodded to the two police officers who were checking over the crime scene and blocking it off with tape. “Any sign of him?”

“Several of the other officers went after him with the dogs, but it looks like he had a car nearby. They found tracks on an old dirt road that’s used as a hunting entrance. He made it back to the car before the dogs could get to him. There’s an APB out for the car and after we get a statement from the victim, we can hopefully put a face and name out on the attacker.”

“We already know his name,” Sam said more to her feet than the officers watching her.

“You do?” asked one of the officers as a crease developed between his eyes.

“Yes. Earlier I wasn’t sure, but I saw him running away. His name is Eric Johnston.” Sam’s voice was firm.

One of the officers stepped forward. “How do you know that, exactly?”

“I’ve known him for years.”

The two officers exchanged a look.

“Guys, this is Sam. Sam these are Officers Nick Holloway and Ryan Jones. We all went to high school together.”

“Wait, your name isn’t Samantha Parker by any chance?”

“Yes, it is,” Sam said with caution.

Spencer looked at Nick, clearly as surprised as she was.

“We went to your house. We got a call from some officers in Chicago and were supposed to give you the heads up. There was reason to believe that a guy you had some trouble with up there is here. Or on his way here. When the other officers couldn’t get you on the phone, they gave us a call.”

“Too little, too late, boys.” Spencer said without humor.

Sam couldn’t speak. All those calls from Chicago she thought had been Eric, hadn’t been him at all. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to use an obvious number. Why hadn’t she just answered the phone? Maybe she could’ve prevented what had happened to Jenny. Disgust welled inside her.

“So it would seem. Look, we have to finish up here. You guys should go and get something to eat. It’s been a long couple of days. Miss Parker, I’ll see to it that your house is checked out for you before you return home and we’ll drive by and check in each day until this guy is caught. Rest assured, we’ll get him.”

“Thanks.” She let Spencer lead her away through the trees.

“They’ll find him, Sam.”

She gave him a weak smile, but made no reply. A shudder ran through her body, causing Spencer to give her hand a squeeze. She knew it wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.