Crazy in Paradise (24 page)

He got up, went into the kitchen, and came back with bottled water, which he threw right at my chest.

I had to focus, figure out how to escape from this madman. One doesn’t go wandering aimlessly around the Everglades. My only way out was the way we came in and Will would catch me. Never mind the snakes and alligators and other surprises the tall grasses held.

“Time for bed,” Will informed me. “Tomorrow we’re going to start putting my plan into action.”

Bed? I didn’t want to go back in that dirty room.

“Give me your shoes.”

I untied my tennis shoes and handed them to him. He threw them outside. “Open the door and I’ll shoot you.” He pointed his gun at me, and pulled the trigger.

I screamed, covering my face. The noise and the smell of gunpowder filled the air.

“That’s just a taste. If I’d meant to hit you, I would have.”

I turned and saw where the bullet was lodged in the wall.

Will grabbed my arm and yanked me to my feet, dragged me down the short hall and shoved me back in the bedroom. I hit the edge of the mattress and fell on the floor. The door slammed shut and I heard the lock turn.

I scrambled away from the bugs and cried soundlessly until exhaustion finally overcame my terror. After a while, I got the courage to lie down on the bed and, when I did, I mercifully went to sleep.

Chapter 32

“Get up, bitch,” Will said, kicking open the bedroom door. He threw a day-old bagel and a bottle of water on the bed. “Breakfast, yummy, yum,” he sneered before walking back to the other end of the trailer.

Light filtered through the sheet at the window. I kicked away a cockroach at my foot; probably the same one that had run up my leg during the night.

“Get out here!” he yelled. “We have work to do!”

Now what
? If I planned to outwit him, I’d need to anticipate his moves. But how do you stay one step ahead of a psycho?

He walked in the bedroom and said, “Get up,” before kicking me hard several times. He jerked me off the bed, and shoved me into the living room.

“Can I have my shoes?” I willed myself not to cry. Every exposed inch of skin on my body was bruised and filthy.

“No, in case you get the bright idea to run. Can’t get far on bare feet. You’d never make it to the main road. All you’ll succeed in doing is tearing up your feet.”

In the daylight, the place was even dirtier, if that were possible. No one had lived here in a long time. Cockroaches in various sizes, spiders, and rodent droppings were all over the floor. There were two mummified mice in the corner.

Will produced a laptop from his briefcase, connected to the internet and pulled up the homepage for my bank. “What’s your password?”

“Coveroad,” I told him.

“Where in the hell are you going to get one million dollars with only thirty six hundred in your account?”

“The money is in my trust account. I can transfer it to my regular account, but I need the authorization of my mother and Ernest Whitman.”

“Whitman? What the hell does he have to do with any of this?”

“He handles all of the family accounts.”

“You better not be lying.” He kicked me.

I yelped in pain. “He’ll do what my mother says.”

“Get mommy dearest on the line, and tell her she’s got twenty fours to get the transfer done. If she tells anyone, and I mean
anyone
, you’re a dead bitch,” he warned. “Understand?” he barked, throwing his phone at me.

“Put it on speaker. I’m going to be listening to every word. Don’t say anything I don’t like,” he said, pointing the gun at me. He pulled the trigger, a bullet buzzed the side of my head and I screamed.

I ran my hand through my hair feeling for blood.

“Oh good,” he smiled, “still working.”

I punched in the number. “Mother, it’s me,” I said, shakily.

“Where the hell are you? I’m worried about you,” she said, sounding frantic.

“Listen to me.”

“What’s going on?” she demanded. “Are you okay?

“Don’t tell her about me,” Will whispered.

“For now. I’ve been kidnapped, and the kidnapper wants money. Call Antonio at Mr. Whitman’s office and have one million dollars transferred out of my trust account into my personal account. This guy says if he gets the money, he won’t hurt me.”

“Madison…,” she started.

“Mother,” I cut her off, afraid she’d blurt something that would tip off Will that I’d been lying. “This needs to be done today. Also, can you go to Brad’s place, and feed his dog?”

“I’ll get a hold of Mr. Whitman right now. Call me later and I’ll update you.”

Will grabbed the phone. “Do you want to see your daughter alive?”

“Yes!” Mother gasped.

“Do not call anyone.
Anyone
is the police or that boyfriend of hers or anyone else. If you do, I’ll find out and you won’t get a body back to bury,” he threatened. “I’m a nice guy, though, so I’d probably send a piece or two.” He discharged his gun into the floor, and cut off the call.

“My mother thinks you shot me!” I cried out.

“Oh boo hoo. Shut up. I’m sick of you.”

I sat silently thinking about the conversation. I hoped Zach was by her side. He’d call Kevin, and all the best people would be looking for me. I’d given a couple of clues, if they weren’t too obscure. If anyone could find me, it would be Zach.

“Hmmm…I wonder how popular I am?” Will opened his laptop and proceeded to search his name. “Look here, I’m the subject of a manhunt. So far, they have no clues. Dumb asses. Once I get my money, a boat is waiting and I’ll disappear.”

He packed up his laptop and started for the door. “Take your sweat pants and shirt off.” He waved his gun at me.

I stripped down to my underwear and thankfully, I had on a cami top. “Toss them over here. I’m leaving for a while,” he said, wadding my filthy clothes under his arm. “If you’re not here when I return, I’ll track you down and beat you till you wish you were dead. And if you don’t think I won’t, just ask Forrest,” he continued. “He can tell you I can administer a beating that’ll have you begging to do what I say. I only had to threaten him, and he’d straighten up.” He threw his head back and laughed, pleased with himself.

After the car took off down the road, I went from room to room, looking in closets. Absolutely nothing could be used to protect my feet. Everything had been cleared out. Only a couch and chair remained, along with dirty mattresses on the floor in both bedrooms.

I walked outside and looked around. The only living things in sight were me and a big crow, and it was only interested in the dead animal it was snacking on. I knew trying to go anywhere barefoot was a terrible idea. Now was not the time to be stupid. I would stay calm and wait this out. At least I would get to talk to my mother again in a few hours.

* * *

Bathed in sweat and dirt, my hair-soaking wet, I wondered if the heat would kill me, when the car drove up. Will returned looking smug.
Now what
? “Time to call mommy again and find out if she got her part done. You better hope so.” He tossed me the phone and, after I punched in the number, he snatched it back, clicking on the speakerphone. “You keep your mouth shut.”

“Hey, Mom. Did you get the money transferred?”

“I want to speak to my daughter. You prove to me she’s still alive, or I’m not telling you anything.”

“I’m calling the shots, bitch!” he yelled. “You’ll talk to me. Being a psycho bitch runs in your family,” Will spit, throwing the phone at me.

“Mother, it’s me. I love you and Brad.”

Will grabbed the phone. “Satisfied? The two of you make me sick. Did you transfer the money or not?”

“I got my part done. Madison needs to go to Ernest Whitman’s office and sign the paperwork.”

“You lying bitch. You’re trying to set me up.”

“No, no I’m not,” she said. “They won’t transfer anything without Madison signing. It takes both of our signatures. All the paperwork is finished and you can go in anytime. Please don’t hurt her,” she pleaded.

“You’d better be telling the truth, or your daughter is dead, and so are you,” he threatened. “Understand?” Not waiting for an answer, he hung up the phone. “You’re going to be sorry if this is a set up,” he said nastily. “Cause I have nothing to lose.”

“Mother wouldn’t do anything to get either of her children killed. She’ll cooperate and do as you ask.” It was hard to believe she hadn’t called the police. She would do whatever was necessary to protect her children. My other wild card was Fab. If Will was holding Fab captive, she would’ve kicked his ass by now, stolen his keys, and been out of this dump. I almost smiled at the pleasant thought.

“I’m going to walk you into that weasley bastard’s office with a gun pointed at your back.”

Weasel thinks the same thing about you
, I thought.

He got up and slammed out of the door. He stood on the porch, talking on his phone. I couldn’t make out his words. At least, I was getting out of here; he had no choice but to take me with him. Then I’d ditch him. Somehow. If he got me back here, he’d kill me for sure.

He came in, big smile on his face. “I just took out an insurance policy.”

“What?”

“I hired a guy to watch your mom. If he doesn’t get a call by a certain time, he’ll kill her. If you try to get away, you’re a dead bitch and so is your old lady.”

All he’d been doing every five minutes was threatening to kill me, and now my mother. What would happen when he found out there was no money. How many people would wind up dead?

“When you get the money, then what?” I asked, keeping up the charade.

“None of your business. Now shut up.”

“You’re a stupid psycho!” I screamed in his face.

He pulled out his stun gun, waved it in my face, then reached out and hit me on the shoulder, and my world went black.

* * *

The only way to determine night from day was through the hole in the stained sheet tacked up over the window., It was dark. I rolled over, and threw up in the trashcan, having a hard time focusing. The foul smell coming from the can made me sick again. Every muscle and joint in my body ached with every move. The mosquito bites had turned into welts, driving me wild with itching.

“When are you going to stop doing that, Pukehead?” he said, throwing a bottle of water at me, hitting me in the arm, followed by a cold hamburger in my face.

I tried to sit up, groaned, and collapsed again.

“While you were out, I kicked you a few times, but you disappointed me. Didn’t make any noise.” He crossed the room, grabbed me by the hair, and shook me around. “Ever had someone beat your face so you can’t eat or see? Maybe later,” he smiled. “Tomorrow you need to look your best for our meeting at Whitman’s office.” He threw me back, my head hitting the wall so hard the trailer trembled.

My vision blurred. Dried spit caked on my face. I was afraid to move. What was worse? His evil little smile or the laugh that sent shivers up my spine.

“Eat the hamburger before you’re wrestling it away from the roaches,” he laughed as he left the room, slamming and locking the door.

* * *

Morning peeked through the hole. I tried to look out, but the glass was muddy with dirt. Today was the day. One way or another it would be over. Will had put a crimp in my plan to get away when he threatened my mother.

Will opened the door and threw a hard muffin at me. “Got you a dress and some makeup,” he said as he tossed me a plastic grocery bag. Inside was a plain brown, tent style dress with two oversized pockets and long puffy sleeves. I remembered seeing a woman on television in a similar style dress. She was a cult member. I didn’t know anyone would manufacture these. Clearly, it was the ugliest thing I’d ever seen. I wondered if he’d stolen it.

“Get dressed, and do a good job on your face. You’ll still be ugly, but I don’t want to see bruises.”

I moved slowly into the bathroom. Black and blue marks covered my whole body. The worst were over both legs and arms. Red marks on my face had turned purplish. The right side bore the largest bruise, which I hoped I could cover with makeup. My hair was a gigantic, dirty rat’s nest, matching the rest of me.

Every step was painful. The foundation did a fairly good job covering the bruises, although I looked like a circus performer. I put on the brown dress, large and baggy, but it concealed the injuries.

Will checked me over and started laughing, “Too bad your boyfriend can’t see you now. He’d go limp.”

I sat quietly in the chair, not wanting to give him an excuse to hit me again.

“Put this in your pocket,” he said, handing me a piece of paper. “It’s the wire information you’ll need to send the money to my account. My gun will be jammed in your back at all times at Whitman’s office. You want to walk out alive, you’d better play your part well.” He threw my shoes at me. “Put these on.”

I noticed he, too, had changed clothes, adding a moustache and glasses. Did he actually think no one would recognize him?

“We’re leaving early so I can scope out the area. The guy staking out your mom’s place will tell me if she followed instructions or not.” He jerked me from the chair. “Give me your hands,” he directed, zip tying them.

Outside sat a black Audi coupe; a different car than the one used for the kidnapping. He certainly had excellent taste in stolen cars. He threw me up against the car, turning me to face him. “When I tell you what to do, you do it with no hesitation, or you’ll be painfully sorry.” He cracked his knuckles.

Opening the back door, he pushed me inside. “Lay on the seat and don’t get up until I tell you.” He turned the car around and bumped down the dirt road, the bushes slapping the sides of the car. The ride to the main highway was a lot longer than I remembered.

My body jerked with each pothole we hit. Finally reaching the paved road was a relief. I started to shake and shiver.

Will held all the cards. He talked like a man with nothing to lose, who was willing to do anything to get what he wanted. He seemed to be looking for any excuse to kill someone, mostly me. I thought his plan was ludicrous, but he seemed confident. I mulled my options and decided if I had to, I’d run. Better to let him shoot me than beat me to death. I trusted my mother, and whatever plan she’d come up with. I wanted my mother and me to come out alive. If someone had to die, it needed to be Will.