3 Buried Leads (17 page)

The next morning I woke up feeling every muscle of my body cramp in abject pain. At least it was keeping my senses sharp.

Brian was still asleep on the couch, so I took advantage of the situation and tried to wriggle my arms free. My wrists were essentially chafed raw, but I kept at my task. It was my best chance at this point.

To my surprise, I felt the ropes slacken a little bit. I have small wrists, but my hands aren’t especially big, so I tried to see if I could pull my hand free. I felt it shift a few inches. If I could just get it to shift a few more inches, I would be free. I kept maneuvering my hands, biting my lip to keep from crying out in pain. I was surprised when my hand popped free.

I looked up at Brian Frank in startled shock. He was still asleep – and I was free.

I tried to get to my feet, but they were numb from the position I had been in over the past few hours. I quietly rubbed them, trying to restore circulation. The pricks in my soles were painful, but I ignored them.

When the pain started to subside, I carefully got to my feet. I almost fell over when I felt the blood rush to all of my extremities, but I managed to keep my footing. I moved towards the door, casting the occasional glance over my shoulder to make sure that Brian was still asleep.

I took a deep breath and flicked the lock. It made a loud “thwack.” I swung around to see Brian Frank in a sitting position and staring at me.

“You’re not exactly graceful,” he said. He hadn’t made a move to get to his feet.

“That’s not one of my strengths,” I acknowledged.

“I saw you and your friend that night in the bushes,” he said.

I was surprised. He had been the one sitting in the blue SUV in the dark. The one watching us.

“You flipped me off,” he continued.

“I figured you were some demented pervert getting off on two girls rolling around on the ground together,” I shot back. “Looks like I was right.”

“Where do you think you’re going to go?”

“Away from here is fine for right now.”

“I can’t let you go,” he said simply.

“You can’t make me stay.”

Brian set his mouth grimly. “That’s where you’re wrong.”

I watched with morbid fascination as he pulled a knife out from his bag. It wasn’t just any knife either. It was one of those long hunting knives that men use to gut their prey. Nice. I swallowed hard.

“It will be easier if you don’t run,” Brian said.

“I’m not easy,” I said, and then I opened the door and bolted through it. I didn’t stop to get a sense of my surroundings. I knew I had to keep ahead of Brian, so I ran headlong into the woods.

I had no idea what direction I was heading. I had no idea where the road was. I had no idea if I was about to topple over a cliff. All I knew was that I couldn’t let Brian catch up to me.

I could hear him entering the woods behind me. I didn’t figure he was in any better shape than I was – and we were both desperate. Adrenaline is a great equalizer, so I ran.

You might think this is the first time I’ve ever been in the woods. You would be wrong. When we were kids, Derrick and I spent hours playing
G.I. Joe
. We strategized, plotted and tracked each other through the dense trees. I was pretty good at it.

This wasn’t exactly childhood games, but Brian Frank wasn’t exactly Cobra Commander either.

As I was running, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket again. My phone! I had forgotten it. I reached into my pocket, slipping behind a tree and out of sight, to look at the screen.

It was a request on
FaceTime – from my mom. I didn’t hesitate, I clicked the accept button. I was never so happy to see anyone in my entire life.

“Why haven’t you called me back?”

“Because I was kidnapped,” I snapped back.

“I thought that Derrick made that up,” my mom said dismissively.

“Well, he didn’t,” I said grimly. I scanned the woods behind me for Brian, but I didn’t see him.

“You need to tell Derrick that I’m in Traverse City at Sarah Frank’s family cabin.”

“They’re already up there,” my mom scoffed. “They tracked your phone.”

“Then where are they?”

“Have you looked at yourself? You’re filthy.”

“I’m hiding in the woods from a guy with a big knife,” I pointed out.

“Then maybe you shouldn’t be talking on the phone,” she chided me.

“You called me,” I reminded her.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” she said finally. “Are you really hiding in the woods?”

“Yes.”

“Then why are you getting cell phone reception?”

That was a pretty good question.

“I must be near a highway.”

“Maybe you should hang up until Eliot and Jake find you.”

“They’re both here?”

“That’s what Derrick said. He went with them.”

The relief that washed over me was immense. It was also momentary. Where were they?

“Who are you talking to?”

I looked up from my crouching position behind the tree and saw Brian staring down at me. He was sweaty and red-faced – and he looked really angry.

“My mom,” I said honestly.

“Who are you talking to?” My mom asked irritably.

“Brian Frank.”

“Is that really wise?”

“Probably not,” I ceded.

“You should probably run,” she said pragmatically.

“Probably.”

I watched in mute horror as Brian reached down and took my phone from me. He looked at my mom’s disgusted face for a moment before throwing the phone against a tree. I watched it shatter helplessly.

I got to my feet and faced Brian resolutely. “They’re coming for me,” I informed him.

“They won’t make it.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” I turned when I heard the snap of a twig and about fell over when I saw Eliot standing there. The look on his face was terrifying, although thankfully it wasn’t pointed at me. He also looked exhausted. He was wearing the same clothes from the night before. They were disheveled, and his hair was a mess, but he was still the best thing I had ever seen in my life.

Brian reached for me fervently. I stepped back in surprise, falling backwards and tumbling onto the ground.

Eliot moved towards Brian ruthlessly. He was going to kill him. I had no doubt.

“I’ll kill her!” He screeched. He was steadily shrinking in the face of Eliot’s furious anger.

“If you lay one hand on her, I’ll let Eliot crush you with his bare hands.”

I looked up to see Jake stepping into the clearing, leveling his gun at Brian. He looked as irate as Eliot – and just as tired.

“How did you find us?” Brian was flummoxed.

“We tracked the GPS on Avery’s phone.”

“I didn’t even know she had a phone.” Brian was mostly talking to himself at this point.

Eliot and Jake were both holding their ground. Neither had made a step towards me, but they were poised to spring into action if the situation warranted it.

“It’s over, Brian,” Eliot said with barely contained rage. “We need to know where Steffi is.”

“She’s dead in the back of the SUV,” I supplied.

Eliot shifted his gaze to me. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, but I really have to pee.”

Jake shook his head, but he seemed relieved despite everything. “Where is Sarah?”

Brian didn’t seem to hear Jake. He was completely lost in his own world.

“He cut her up and put parts of her body in the woods and parts on top of the machine shop.”

“On top of it?” Jake looked confused.

“On the roof.”

Eliot’s face was a mask of unexpressed rage at this point. “So you killed two women, left your kids alone at home and decided to take my girlfriend on a camping trip?”

Jake grimaced at the word “girlfriend” but he didn’t make a move to interrupt Eliot.

“Why don’t you tell me why I shouldn’t just kill you right here?” Eliot asked. He wasn’t joking.

Brian looked panicked. “You can’t let him kill me?” He begged Jake.

“I could say I never found you,” Jake suggested. “That Eliot killed you in self defense to save Avery.”

“You wouldn’t do that,” Brian looked flabbergasted.

“No,” Jake said grimly. “As much as I would like to, I wouldn’t do that.”

Brian dropped the knife and took a step towards Jake with his hands outstretched in front of him. Jake pulled his handcuffs out and snapped them
on, never moving his gaze from Brian Frank’s distressed face. “Why did you do this?” Finding reason with a madman is fruitless, I thought.

Brian looked nonplussed. “It was an accident.”

Eliot moved to help me stand up, pulling me into his arms briefly. Once I was steady on my feet, he pulled away and inspected me for injuries. I was still staring at Brian Frank’s back. I couldn’t figure out how such a small man held so much evil.

Jake looked over at me. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Is he going to prison forever?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’m great,” I said before promptly bursting into tears.

Jake and Eliot looked shocked – and then pained. They both just stood there looking at me with dumbfounded confusion.

“Jesus Christ,” Derrick walked into the clearly and directly over towards me. “She’s a girl. She cries.”

“I’ve never seen her do it before,” Eliot said.

“I haven’t seen it since we were kids,” Jake informed everyone.

“Well, now you have seen it. Stop staring at her.”

Derrick wrapped an arm around my shoulders and led me out of the clearing. Jake led Brian Frank a few paces behind and Eliot brought up the rear. “Maybe you should try not to be such a hard ass,” Derrick suggested. “You just scared them more by crying than you did by getting kidnapped.”

I wiped the tears from eyes and barked out a hollow laugh. “I really do derange people. You were right.”

“You can’t help it. You were born that way. That’s why you’re never boring.”

I heard Eliot and Jake laugh as we walked out of the woods.

When I woke up the next morning, I bolted straight awake with a sense of terror. Eliot wrapped me in his arms quickly and pulled me back down to the mattress with him. “You’re okay,” he murmured into my hair.

The events of the previous day came rushing back to me. After Jake had taken Brian into custody, he had been transferred back down to Macomb County. Derrick had did the honors. The police wanted to question him over the ride.

After getting my statement, Jake had released me to Eliot’s care.  Once I stopped crying Jake and Eliot had returned to normal. Both of them verbally lambasted me for going out to interview Brian Frank alone the afternoon before – but, in the grand scheme of things, it could have been a lot worse than it was.

Jake talked to his deputies back in the city and found out they had discovered Sarah Frank’s torso on top of his dad’s building. Search parties were being organized to find the rest of her in the woods.

Jake had called my mom to tell her everything was fine. She was more concerned with Brian hanging up on her than anything else. She was glad the “rude young man” had been taken into custody. Of course, she didn’t know that he had killed the au pair or cut his wife up into little pieces either. I couldn’t wait for that conversation. Thankfully my cell phone was dead – so I wouldn’t have to worry about that for
awhile.

I had fallen asleep in Eliot’s car on the way back home. I slept for almost four hours straight. When we got back to town, he took me straight to his place. I climbed into the shower – and I wasn’t exactly surprised when he joined me. Instead of a fun time, though, he spent the entire time gently washing me – paying special attention to the miasma of bruises that were steadily popping up. Given the grim set of his mouth, I couldn’t help but figure that if he had it to do over again, he would have snapped Brian’s neck right there.

We both tumbled into bed after that – not even bothering to get into pajamas. I fell asleep with Eliot’s body wrapped protectively around mine. We were both too spent to do anything else.

“How do you feel?” Eliot asked.

“Sore,” I admitted.

“I bet.”

I groaned as I moved to get out of bed. “I’m hungry,” I announced. I had been too tired to eat anything the day before. The last meal I had was grandpa’s famous spaghetti.

“You want me to cook for you?” Eliot looked at me suggestively.

“I want breakfast from the Coney.”

“That stuff will kill you,” Eliot informed me.

“I was already almost killed by a crazy guy, I think I can survive breakfast.”

“Fine,” Eliot sighed. “Just let me shower.”

“Shower later. I need food now.”

Eliot shook his head but did as he was told. I would have to take advantage of this situation while I still could. It probably wouldn’t last long.

I didn’t even bother to put any makeup on. I brushed my hair back into a pony tail, slipped into my dirty jeans and one of Eliot’s T-shirts, and headed for the door.

“You’re not even going to put on a bra?” Eliot looked amused, and a little turned on.

I turned back to him with a small smile. “You can benefit from that after breakfast.”

Eliot didn’t put up any argument. Once we got out to the street, he linked his hand with mine for the two-block walk to the diner. I ordered my usual eggs, hash browns, toast and ham and topped it off with some tomato juice. Eliot must have been hungrier than I realized, because he ordered a full breakfast of pancakes and bacon as well.

“That stuff will kill you,” I teased him.

“Dating you has already shortened my lifespan,” he retorted. “I think I can survive the breakfast.”

While we waited, I gave Eliot all the gory details from the previous day. He hadn’t asked me a thing during the ride home. He must have realized I needed time to process. While I was telling him the story, his face got continuously darker. “That guy is an animal.”

“He’s not our problem now,” I reminded him.

“We’re both going to have to testify at his trial,” he reminded me.

Shit. I hadn’t thought of that. Fish was going to be pissed. Crap. It hadn’t even occurred to me that someone else would have had to cover the story in my absence. I looked around the restaurant and caught sight of a copy of The Monitor. I got up, grabbed the paper, and sat back down. I was relieved to see Marvin’s name in the byline spot.

I skimmed the article. He had all of the details. I was a little disappointed that I hadn’t gotten the big story, but since I was part of the story that wasn’t exactly a surprise.

Eliot watched me read the paper knowingly. “You’ll still have the big story. You’ll be able to write everything up from your point of view. No one else will have that.”

“I know,” I said defensively.

“Eat your breakfast,” Eliot ordered. “We’re going back to bed when you’re done.”

We both looked up at the front door when it chimed. I was surprised to see Jake walk in. When he caught sight of us, he headed in our direction. He slipped into the booth next to me, reached over and grabbed a slice of bacon off of Eliot’s plate, and then turned to me. “How are you feeling?”

“Good,” I said.
“A little sore, but good.”

“Did you sleep?” He cast a wary glance in Eliot’s direction.

“For like twelve hours.”

“That’s good, you probably needed it,” he said.

“So what’s up?” Eliot asked.

“Brian confessed everything. He’s being taken out to the woods to show the deputies where the rest of Sarah’s body is this afternoon.”

“That’s a cheery task,” I muttered.

Jake reached inside of his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, slipping it towards me. I was surprised when I saw it was a check for $25,000. “What’s this for?”

“It’s the reward from Crime Stoppers,” Jake said.

“Reward?”

“For solving the Sarah Frank case.”

“I forgot there even was a reward,” I admitted.

“That’s what happens when you get kidnapped.”

“I shouldn’t get this,” I said. I was suddenly embarrassed. “Give it to his kids or something.”

“You solved the case,” Jake pointed out. “Put it in the bank.”

I looked up at Eliot curiously. “What do you think?”

Eliot sipped his coffee a second and then smiled. “I think you earned it.”

Jake sneaked another slice of bacon from Eliot and then got to his feet. “By the way, can you tell your mom to stop texting me and requesting calls on
FaceTime?”

“No.”

“It’s becoming annoying.”

“Better you than me.”

Jake shook his head and walked out of the restaurant. He didn’t look back.

Instead of going back to Eliot’s apartment, I returned home. I promised him that not only would I spend the night with him tonight – but I would cook him dinner. I had something I needed to do first, though.

When I got home, Lexie was waiting impatiently for me in the dining room. “I can’t believe you didn’t call me,” she said angrily. “If I wasn’t heavily meditating, I would have freaked out.”

“Did you say meditating or medicating?”

“Don’t be cute.”

I told
Lexie the gritty details of my travails – she only interrupted me about ten times for clarification – and then I pushed the check towards her decisively.

“What’s this?”

“I figured you could start your yoga studio.”

“You’re giving this to me?”

“No,” I cautioned her. “I’m a silent investor in your yoga place. If it goes belly-up, so be it. If it makes a profit, you have to pay me back.”

“It will make a profit,”
Lexie promised.

“I know.”

Faith starts somewhere. If the Brian Frank situation had taught me anything, you can’t just kill someone else’s dream. You have to be willing to support them. I was taking a chance on Lexie. Who knows? Maybe she’ll surprise me and be a huge success.

Of course, this could be the world’s biggest money trap, too.