Silence in the Dark (36 page)

With a grunt, he closed the door behind him, then in a minute it opened again. He gave Maria the water, then disappeared back into the other room.

“Are you thirsty?” Bailey asked Maria.

“Mm-huh.”

“Can you get the bottle cap off?” She feared Maria becoming dehydrated.

“You do it.”

She thrust the bottle in Bailey’s hand.

She broke the seal and let Maria drink first. When Maria finished, Bailey took a sip.

Maria climbed back into bed. “Would you tell me a story?”

Bailey stroked her back. “What story would you like for me to tell you?”

“The one about the eagle and the chickens.”

“I don’t believe I know that one. Why don’t you tell it to me.”

“Okay. Then you’ll tell me one?”

“Yes.”

“Once upon a time, there was an eagle’s nest high in the—”

“What did you say, Maria?”

“I said there was an eagle’s nest. Is something wrong?”

“No. I’m sorry I interrupted you. Tell me your story.” Her mind whirled as it all came together . . .
Eagle’s nest.
The photo had been of an eagle. The dated furniture, the wood paneling, the dampness . . . they were at the Eagle’s Nest Motel.

27

O
w!” Bailey groaned as the handcuffs dug into her wrist.

“Miss Bailey, what’s wrong?” Maria’s voice sounded weak.

“Everything is fine,” she said, trying to comfort Maria. Like anything would ever be fine again. She really needed to get some food in the child. Bailey sucked her finger where she’d pricked it with the safety pin from Maria’s overalls. With darkness their constant companion, she had to do something or fall prey to despair. Her attempts to pick the lock on the handcuffs had netted her nothing but sore fingers from missing the keyhole and sticking herself.

“Can we go home?”

“Not yet, honey. But they’re going to let us go soon.”

Her knowledge of kidnapping was limited to television shows, but wasn’t that what usually happened? The families paid the ransom, and the victims were released. She refused to let her mind go to the stories she’d heard about the victim being killed . . . or the fact that Maria could give a general description of the men.

What were the odds of two sisters being the victims of kidnappers almost three years apart, anyway? Even two totally different types of kidnapping. Robyn’s kidnapper had been crazy and didn’t demand a ransom, unlike the men who held her and Maria. She felt for the keyhole in the cuffs again, hating the dark.

The only time she’d experienced dark like this was on a moon
less night on the lake, and she’d been safe with Danny. Her heart ached for him. He must be going crazy, probably blaming himself. And her mother and daddy. What were they going through?

She had to get her thoughts away from home. Think about those TV programs. Sometimes the victims escaped . . . Wait. She pulled her bottom lip through her teeth. Didn’t the families of the person kidnapped always demand to talk to the victim? To make sure they were still alive before they paid the ransom?

Bailey had lain awake all night, trying to come up with some way to let Danny know where they were, and now she had it. Danny and Angel would insist on talking to her before they paid any ransom money. When that happened, she wanted to be ready.

The door flew open. She blinked against the bright light that flooded the room and caught a glimpse of the man keeping them captive. An old man? No, he wore some sort of mask and cowboy outfit. Even so, he couldn’t hide how tall he was.

“Hold this and look up.” He thrust a newspaper into her hands.

She stared at the paper. The kidnappers were going to use it to prove they were still alive. There would be no phone call. She tried to push the paper away, and he stepped closer, towering over them. “Do as I say, or the child will suffer.”

“No! Don’t hurt her.” She tried to shield Maria with her body. “I’ll do what you say, just leave her alone.”

With a sinking heart, she held the paper up, and a flash of light blinded her as he took their picture. Seconds later, he was gone and they were plunged into darkness again. She yanked on the handcuff, and pain shot up her arm. They were stuck here, and it’d take a miracle to get them out.

Danny stepped out on the front porch as the first rays of the sunrise streaked across the sky like red welts. He breathed deeply, but other than filling his lungs, the cold air did nothing to clear
the fog brought on by a sleepless night. What he wouldn’t give for a run right now. But he couldn’t leave. The kidnappers might call again.

Tires crunched on the drive, and he turned as a sixties-model Ford pickup eased past the house. Charlie. Bailey’s dad was taking this hard. The door opened, and Kate joined him. “Where’s Charlie going?”

She held out a steaming cup of coffee. “He had to get out, said if he stayed around here all day, he’d go crazy. I told him to go, otherwise it’d be us he drove crazy.”

Danny knew how he felt. “Thanks,” he said and took the mug. “How’s Solana this morning?”

“Weak. I can’t get her to eat. Angel is upstairs now trying to get cream of wheat down her.”

They stood quietly facing the sun until Kate sighed. “It’s a beautiful Sunday morning for so many things to be wrong.”

He grunted. Nothing would be beautiful until Bailey and Maria returned safe and sound.

The sun broke over the horizon, scattering the earlier red and purple streaks. “How can you stand here so calmly? Aren’t you worried about her?”

“Of course I’m worried, but I know God is in control. He loves my daughter even more than I do, and that gives me peace.”

“So you think we’ll save them?”

“I didn’t say that. I pray we do, but God’s the only one with that answer.” She shivered and rubbed her arms. “I better get breakfast started.”

After Kate left, Danny sipped his coffee. It was hard to understand how Kate could trust God so much. It seemed like she was just letting God off the hook—even if this turned out bad, God didn’t get the blame.

At 7:55, eight pairs of eyes stared at Joel’s phone on the coffee table as though that would make it ring. Edward had arrived not long after Ben. Raines and the tech had spent the night in Kate’s living room in case another call came in. Danny flexed his fingers. What if the man didn’t call back? He certainly hadn’t called and let them talk to Maria or Bailey. He flinched as an alert sounded on the phone. “What’s that?”

“An email.” Joel picked up the phone and tapped the message. His eyes widened. “It’s a picture of Bailey and Maria with today’s paper.”

“He’s not going to let us talk to them,” the FBI agent said. “But maybe this will buy more time.”

Danny didn’t see how that helped. “What do you mean?”

The room stilled as Joel’s phone rang.

“Answer it and tell him the picture looks like it’s been photoshopped. Insist on talking to Maria and Bailey.”

Joel nodded and pressed the answer button. “Hello.”

“Do you have the money?”

“I haven’t talked to Bailey and Maria. No money until I do.”

“I emailed you a photograph.”

“Yeah, a picture that’s been doctored. If you want me to pay, I have to talk with them first.”

“In two hours I will call back, and you can talk. Then the money. Do not think you can negotiate this business transaction—I expect the full amount at that time.”

Joel looked at the phone. “Did he hang up?”

“Yeah.”

“Where was he?” Ben asked.

“Another pay phone at the corner of Polk and Linden.”

Ben relayed the location to his deputies, then shook his head. “Not that he’ll still be there. And it’ll probably be just like Walmart and no security camera anywhere near.”

Eric spread a city map out on the coffee table. “Bradford County
has twenty pay phones in Logan Point and ten in the county. I’ve marked all their locations—the city in red and the county in blue. How many deputies do you have available?”

“Ten, eleven counting me.”

“We need you here. Show me which of these locations would be the best place for him to make the call.”

Ben leaned over the map while Angel and Danny looked over his shoulder. Danny tried to picture the area around each circle. Most of the phones were in congested areas that the kidnapper would avoid for fear Bailey would be recognized. The best location was the one he’d just called from, and he wouldn’t use it again. “He’s called twice and both times from a public city phone. Why do you suppose he hasn’t used one out in the county?”

“Not as many people, and perhaps he feared he’d stand out,” Angel said. He shifted his attention to his uncle. “When will the money arrive?”

“By noon. It’s coming from a bank in Memphis.” Edward stood and rolled his shoulders. “But I hope we find them first. Even the bank in Memphis didn’t have a million dollars in cash available.”

“How much did you get?” Danny said.

“Half a mil,” Joel said.

Danny tapped his foot on the floor. Something was different about Joel this morning. “How’s your dad?” he asked.

Joel startled, and the look on his face made Danny think it was the first time the man had thought about his father.

“I talked to Mom last night when he was still on a ventilator. He was stable. I haven’t called today.”

That was understandable, but Danny doubted he could be so disconnected if it was his dad. But then, he’d never seen Joel excited about much of anything. Still, something nagged at the back of his mind . . . but maybe it wasn’t Joel that was bothering him.
Perhaps something about the call . . . He’d have to think about it. “Did you get a fix on where the photo came from?”

“Yeah,” the tech replied. “The McDonald’s here in Logan Point. All he had to do was boot up his computer in the parking lot and send it. Then it’s about a five-minute drive to the pay phone.”

“And once again,” Ben said, “no one saw anything.”

“Any fingerprints on the phone at Walmart?” Danny asked.

“Only about a hundred on yesterday’s. Evidently, no one cleans those phones. Ever,” Ben said.

“I wonder why he doesn’t use a throwaway phone,” Angel said.

“I don’t know.” Ben looked to Raines. “Any thoughts on that?”

“Who knows what’s going on in his mind. Could’ve figured pay phones would catch us by surprise.”

Angel nodded but didn’t seem satisfied. Danny caught Angel’s eye and barely lifted an eyebrow before grabbing his coat. “I need some fresh air. I’m going out to the barn to see if Charlie has come back.”

“I can use some exercise. I’ll come with you,” Angel said.

Outside, the wind cut through his jacket, and he pulled it closer.

“You wanted to talk?”

“Yeah.” They reached the barn, and Danny looked around for Charlie’s pickup. “I wonder why Charlie hasn’t come back?”

“Do you know where he went?”

“No. I’m sure he’ll be back soon.” He turned to Angel. “Does anything seem odd to you about the ransom demand?”

“The whole thing has been odd. What’s bothering you about it?”

“I don’t know. Something’s off, but I don’t know what. My mind keeps going back to the phone call. Like I should be catching something.” He replayed the call in his mind. “That’s it!”

“What?”

“The caller said something about not negotiating a business transaction and expecting the full amount.
Does that sound familiar?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Raines said almost the same thing yesterday. It’s like the kidnappers can hear what we’re saying. Maybe there’s a bug at the house.”

“Or someone’s feeding them information.”