Splintered (34 page)

Wallace continued over the ensuing congratulatory banter. “You’re here today because we believe the older brother, Hank Fry, has abducted fifteen-year-old Maddie Eastin. She went missing three days ago, on September twenty-ninth. She was originally believed to be a runaway until we uncovered evidence that she was being held against her will in the Fry house. We saved Katie, but were too late for Maddy.

“Hank could have left Maddy at the house and gotten away easier without her. Yet he chose to take her along. But he left behind his brother, Daniel, who’s mentally challenged and who Hank has been taking care of for the past ten years. This tells us that the girl is special to him. I’m afraid he won’t give her up without a fight.”

Wallace fell quiet for a moment to let that last statement sink in.

“Hank Fry’s vehicle was found at the old fishing village just a few miles north of the Fowler Avenue boat ramp,” he continued. “We have reason to believe he launched a boat from there. Katie Norris told us she saw Hank Fry leave his house yesterday with a girl that bore a resemblance to Maddy Eastin. So we are working under the assumption that Maddy is still with Fry. We have additional evidence that leads us to believe he’s holed up in a shack in the northeast quadrant of the woods along the Hillsborough River. That’s why we’ve set up a command post here—it’s the closest entry point.

“Early this morning, I interviewed a coworker of Hank Fry’s, a Jim Yardley. It took a while to track him down because he took a leave of absence from work to take care of his dad up in Georgia. Anyway, Yardley told me that, years ago, he built a cabin out in the woods. Well, more like a glorified shack. A place to party with his buddies as well as take his lady friends to without his wife finding out.”

“How come no one’s ever stumbled on the place?” one of the SWAT guys asked.

“Someone may have. Just not law enforcement, or they would have knocked the thing down.” Wallace nodded over at a couple of Temple Terrace police officers. “Why don’t you elaborate, Kovach?”

“Most of you know us,” Kovach said, nodding at the guy next to him. “But for those who don’t, Johnson and I are part of a team of two marine units that patrol the Hillsborough River. We patrol as far south as the dam near Busch Gardens, and all the way up north, to this location. Normally, we’re out here making sure everyone is fishing with a license, catching what they’re supposed to, and ensuring there are no suspicious characters lurking behind the houses that back up to the river. Every once in a while though, we’ll catch some yahoo setting up a campsite, poaching a deer, or net fishing. However, we stay in our boats. So unless the violation is happening along the river’s edge, we won’t find it.”

“You’ll be hitching a ride to the entry point with the marine patrol,” Wallace said. He pointed at the SWAT commander. “Lieutenant Powell, would you like to take it from here?”

Emma watched Powell spread out a map of the wooded area surrounding the shack Fry was purported to be hiding out in. “You guys know these woods. We’ve done enough training exercises out here that you should be familiar with the terrain. I want a couple of two-man sniper teams to make their way back to the structure for reconnaissance.” Powell pointed at the map. “Be in position by six twenty a.m. That gives you an hour before daylight to be in place. We’re going in with flash-bangs at first light. No chopper this time. We can’t afford the noise—it might tip off Fry. The forest is too dense to provide us intel anyway. Best to go in on foot.”

Powell continued prepping his team, going over every detail of the assault they’d soon be undertaking. He decided which personnel he wanted on the inner perimeter team and which would comprise the entry team. Emma only half-listened. She knew she’d be stuck at the boat ramp for the duration of the extraction. There were only so many rules she could break and charging in with SWAT wouldn’t happen. Even Rocky would be stuck there with her, listening to the live audio feed.

Wallace’s phone rang, and he stepped away to take the call. The SWAT team finished their briefing and broke off from the circle to start suiting up.

Emma caught the attention of a SWAT guy named CJ. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure, what’s up?”

She pulled him off to the side and spoke in a hushed voice.

When Wallace finished his phone call, he rejoined the group. “We’re all set. Powell, you and your guys ready?”

Powell clapped his hands with a boom, indicating he was all in. “Men—you ready to do this?”

CJ left Emma and went back to the group, adding his own clap to the thunderous sound all the other guys were making. They were ready.

Emma was too.

Maddy was ready to jump out of her skin. Every time Hank turned in his sleep, moaned, or made any sound, she startled awake. Then she’d listen to try and determine what noise had caused her intuition to warn her body to be on guard.

Has Hank snuck up on me? Does he have his knife?

She strained her ears, listening. He was murmuring in his sleep again. Maddy couldn’t make out the words; she could only hear quiet ranting. His behavior earlier that night had almost terrified her more than her training sessions. She’d never seen him so crazed. While she was cleaning up the water he’d spilled, he had shouted at the ceiling, talking gibberish. She had no idea who he was talking to, so she tried making herself as small as possible.

He eventually threw her down on the ground and duct-taped her arms and legs together. Then he’d stormed over to the far end of the room and laid down on his sleeping bag. Instinctually, she knew he was distancing himself from her. So she remained as still as possible, ignoring the pain of her hunger and thirst, tried to keep the noise of her panting soft. Her chest ached, inside and out. It was becoming more difficult to breathe. She knew the infections and tachycardia were taking a toll on her body.

Oh, MomMom. I miss you so much. I wish I could have one more chance to do things differently. I want to feel your kiss on my forehead, and I promise I won’t turn away this time. I want the chance to thank you for sticking by me even when Dad didn’t. You’ve always been my biggest cheerleader. You’ve never given up on me. And for that—

Hank cried out in his sleep. Maddy curled up tighter. Maybe if she was quiet enough, he’d sleep longer. Because the way she figured it, the promise of a new day didn’t look too promising.

“Checking Alpha,” the SWAT commander said into his radio. Wallace and Emma were inside the mobile command center at the Turkey Creek boat ramp, listening to Powell check in with the sniper teams. There was less than an hour until sunrise.

“Alpha all clear.”

Emma closed her eyes, envisioning the scene like it was playing out in front of her. She knew from this morning’s briefing that a two-man sniper team, Alpha, would be taking up a position at the front left-hand corner of the shack—the one-two spot. Another sniper team, Omega, would be at the back right-hand corner of the house—the three-four position. Once they were in place, the cover team would move in to surround the shack, creating an inner perimeter in case Fry made a run for it.

“Checking Omega,” said Powell.

“Omega all clear.” The men in the field used bone-mic communication systems that enabled them to hear the commander through an earpiece while their words were picked up through a microphone situated across the throat.

“Cover team, move in,” ordered Powell.

“Omega here. I have a visual at the number three window. A lone male. No visual on the friendly.”

Emma pictured the shack as a square with each side labeled in the numbers one through four. Number one would be the front of the house, and the numbers would rotate clockwise. The number three window was at the back of the house.

“Keep him in your sights,” said Powell.

Since SWAT didn’t know for certain whether Maddy was in the shack, their directive was to take Fry alive—if possible. If he’d already dumped Maddy’s body in the woods, they’d need him if they ever hoped to find her remains.

“Entry team, take your place,” Powell commanded.

“Entry team in place.”

“No! Stop! No!” Hank startled awake at the sound of screaming.

He realized the source of the screams—they’d come from him. With a pounding heart, he looked over at Maddy and saw her right where he’d left her the night before.

It was still dark out. He pushed a button on his watch and the blue, glowing numbers indicated morning would soon be dawning. When he stood up, the cracking noises in his back seemed to tell the story of the night’s fractured sleep. He’d been unable to stop thinking of Daniel or having dreams about his dad, so it was no wonder he hadn’t gotten any rest.

The sound of rustling leaves outside the cabin caught Hank’s attention, putting him instantly on edge. He hurried to the back window and looked outside. About ten feet in the distance, the moonlight illuminated a rabbit darting out of the bush and heading toward another hiding spot.

He turned away from the window and stared at the girl’s dark figure lying balled-up on the floor.

That little bitch. This is all her fault.

The entire boat ride to the cabin, he’d fantasized about every slice his knife would make against her pale skin. He’d planned to draw out her death as long as possible. Make it a kind of experiment to see how much pain he could inflict before her body gave out. It’d be useful information to have for when he grabbed the next girl. But the shack had been too filthy. He knew he had to clean the place, or he wouldn’t have been able to enjoy any of it. Now he was just ready to be done with it all.

Done with her. Done with this shack. Done.

Hank picked his sheathed knife from where he’d left it, on the floor near the mattress, and moved toward Maddy. He didn’t want to wait. He had to kill her now.

He switched on the lantern so he could watch her reaction as the blade sliced through her skin. He sank down to his knees and raised his knife over her face so she could see the imposing weapon.

But instead of terror in her eyes, there was a look of defiance.

Son, don’t wait. Kill her. Kill her now!
Hank heard his dad yelling at him to slit her throat.

“Go ahead, you coward.” Maddy barely spoke above a whisper, but Hank could hear the venom in her words.

How dare this bitch taunt me!

He lowered the knife to her neck, resting the tip of the blade against her throat. He waited to see the fear register, waited to hear her beg him to let her live. Once that happened, he’d slice her from ear to ear.

Emma could feel the tension in the command center build as they waited for Powell to give the order for the SWAT team to bust down the door of the shack. She forced herself to remain seated and quiet, but all she really wanted to do was give into to her emotions and grab the commander by the shirt and shake him until he finally gave the go-ahead.

What is he waiting for? The team is all set. They’re in place, ready to take Fry down. The first light will soon—

“Entry team go,” said Powell.

Emma sprang up. She strained, listening to the shuffling of feet and the crunch of leaves through the radio transmission.

“Police! On the ground!” The sound of a steel battering ram splintering the door sounded as the police simultaneously announced their presence. The thundering boom of a flash grenade rang through the audio feed. Pounding boots thudded in a roar.

Then all the noises seemed to mesh together, making it impossible to understand what was happening. Had they found Maddy? It sounded like all hell had broken loose.

“Get on the ground!”

“Knife!”

Pop. Pop. Pop.

Static filled the air.

Powell took off his headset. “We lost coms.”

“Police! On the ground!”

The door burst open and a roar of noise crashed into Hank. An explosion sounded next to him. The blast shook the entire shack and the room filled with smoke. He raised his arms to shield his eyes from the streams of light pouring through the door.

No! This can’t be happening. Not yet. I have to kill her first!

“Get on the ground!”

Hank swung the knife down toward Maddy’s throat.

“Knife!”

Pop. Pop. Pop.

Hank felt a cold spread through his body. He wondered why he was lying on the floor. His vision blurred, then his dad came into focus.

“Come here, son,” Earl Fry said. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

When Powell announced they’d lost communication with the team, Emma ran out of the mobile unit and down the dirt path to the water’s edge. She couldn’t afford to fall apart in front of the commander and everyone else at the command post. She crossed the small bridge to the dock and looked down the river to see if she could see a boat returning. Nothing.

Who was on the other end of that gunfire? Has Hank Fry been shot? What was this about a knife? Was Maddy there when SWAT entered?

Not knowing was maddening. She started pacing from one short end of the boat dock to the other.

What am I going to tell Lily? How will I find the words to explain that I failed, that I wasn’t able to bring her baby back?

The decision not to tell Lily any of this was going down had been a good one, she knew. Lily would’ve clung to the hope that her daughter would be rescued. A fall from that high might have been enough to crack her wide open.

The siren of an ambulance sounded in the distance.

Did the shots not kill Fry? Is there a chance he’s still alive and can tell us where Maddy is? Did a SWAT member get hurt?

An approaching boat engine rumbled in the distance. Emma wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, trying to clear her vision.

A marine unit slid up to the dock. One of the guys jumped out of the boat and tied the ropes to the cleats. Officer Kovach turned the motor off, killing the engine noise. Emma ducked to the left and right, but she couldn’t see around the line of three SWAT guys who had their backs to her.