Deadly Obsession (11 page)

She put her arms around him and hugged him tightly. She was so happy that Dexter had finally woken up. Her faith was restored completely in the reunion of her little family.

“He’s awake, mom; Dexter’s awake. He’s going to be okay.” Carmen cried.

“Thank God, I’m so happy to hear that, give him our love.” Eva said.

As she hung up the phone, there was a knock at Eva’s front door.

“Hey, Mrs. Haines, how are you today?” Nick asked.

“I’m fine Nick, how are you?”

“I just wanted to stop by and check on you all how’s the baby?”

“He’s great but I think he misses his mom.”

“Is Carmen okay?”

“You haven’t heard?”

“Haven’t heard what?”

Eva explained the entire situation to Nick causing him to be extremely nervous and scared of going to jail.

“I’m glad he’s okay, do they know who

did it?”

“Carol Avery, Dexter is finally awake; police are talking with him now. He’s going to tell them everything.”

This news wasn’t good at all for Nick as Dexter knew of his involvement in Ada Crane’s murder and could name him an accessory in his kidnapping. Nick was unsure of his next move but knew he had to do something to ensure Dexter’s silence.

“Where’s Dave, I thought I’d come by and lend him a hand if he needs it.” Nick asked changing the subject.

“He’s in town getting some supplies for the repairs to the shed roof. You’re welcome to stick around and wait for him if you want to.” Eva told him.

“I’ll go out back and start tearing the old roof off if that’s okay with you.”

“That’s fine with me, thanks for your help Nick. I’m sure Dave will appreciate it too. Make yourself at home. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get the mail while Zachary’s napping.”

Dexter waited for the sound of the closing door, the coast was clear. He went into Zachary’s room and picked him up, grabbing his bag and car seat on the way out. Unexpectedly Dave was pulling into the drive. He jumped out of his truck and demanded to know what Nick planned to do with his grandson.

“Go on old man, I don’t want to hurt you. Zachary’s going with me, get out of my way.” Nick warned.

“Give him to me Nick; you’re not taking him anywhere!” Dave shouted.

Dave made an attempt to stop Nick but was unsuccessful in doing so. Nick knocked him down causing him to hit his head on a rock, knocking him unconscious. Nick hurriedly followed the wooded trail that led to his car. He strapped Zachary in and sped away. Meanwhile at the hospital, Dexter was giving his statement to police.

“Carol wasn’t involved in this alone,

she had an accomplice, her ex-boyfriend, Nick Dasher. He’s the one who killed my mother and knew she was keeping me at the cabin.”

“Oh my God, are you sure that’s his name Dexter?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Not long after you went missing, he came to my front door asking to borrow sugar, said he’d just moved into a house down the street. He’s been helping my father around the house. Excuse me, please.”

Carmen ran down the hall to use the phone.

“How are things going with Dexter?” Eva asked.

“Dexter’s fine mom; I need you to check on Zachary.”

Eva laid the phone down and went to Zachary’s room, much to her horror, he was missing.

“He’s  gone  Carmen,  Zachary’s  not in

his crib. Oh my God, what do I do?” Eva asked frantically.

“Is Nick there mom?”

“He was gone when I returned from the mailbox.”

“How long ago was that?”

“Probably forty-five minutes.”

“Call the police mom, tell them Zachary’s missing. Tell them about Nick.”

“What makes you think that Nick had something to do with this?”

“It’s a long story mom, I’ll explain everything to you when I get home, I promise.”

Carmen was hysterical, her son was missing. Nick had taken Zachary as a tactic of revenge. He only wanted to stay out of Jail, he didn’t care about Zachary, and he didn’t know how to care for him.

“Zachary’s gone, Nick took him. I’ll kill him if he harms one hair on his head. I swear I will. We have to find him.” Carmen told them.

“This is crazy; I have to find my son. Give me my clothes. I can’t just sit here and do nothing while my baby is out there with a killer.”

“You can’t leave yet, Dexter, let me call the nurse. We need to speak with the doctor before you leave.” Carmen told him.

“I made a call to the station and told them to be on the lookout for Nick’s car. They know he has Zachary too. We’ll get him, don’t you worry. He won’t get away with this. I’m going to see what I can find out about our friend Nick, myself.”

There was a knock at the door.

“Mr. Crane, how are you feeling?” the doctor asked.

“I’m fine doc; I just want to go home.”

“Everything looks fine, I just need you to sign a few forms and you’ll be ready to go. I’ll send the nurse right in with them. Good luck sir.”

“Thank you, doctor, for everything.” Dexter told him.

It wasn’t long until the papers were signed and Dexter was released. He quickly gathered his things and headed for the door. Officer Smith was waiting outside to give him and Carmen a ride home.

Eva Haines was sick with worry, she’d been pacing the floors and was beginning to worry about Dave too as he hadn’t returned home yet. Maybe he had slipped in while she wasn’t paying attention. As she reached half the distance of the back yard, she spotted him lying on the ground. Upon closer investigation she discovered the gash in his head that was bleeding profusely.

“Help me! Someone help me please!” Eva shouted hysterically.

A neighbor heard her cries for help.

“What happened, Mrs. Haines?” Jeff asked.

“I don’t know I found him lying here on the ground. Call 911.” Eva pleaded.

The paramedics arrived on the scene a short time later. They assessed Dave’s injury and loaded him into the back of the ambulance; he needed stitches at the very least. He was still unconscious when they left with him; Eva rode in the back of the ambulance with him. As they were pulling away, Carmen and Dexter were arriving home.

“What happened, Jeff, why was the ambulance here?” Carmen asked.

“Your mom found your dad in the back yard. He was unconscious and bleeding.”

“What happened to him?”

“We don’t know and he couldn’t tell us.”

On the way to the hospital, Dave began to arouse.

“Thank God, you’re awake. What happened?” Eva enquired.

“Nick had Zachary, I tried to stop him but I couldn’t.”

“You tried dear, that’s all you could do. Don’t you worry they’ll find him, Zachary will be okay.”

Chapter Twelve

“If you need me don’t hesitate to call. I’ll keep you informed concerning any new developments in the case. I’ve got a meeting with Janice Avery, right now.” Officer Smith told them.

“We want to come with you.” Carmen insisted.

“I think we should be present when you question her, it’s our son who’s missing.” Dexter said.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Officer Smith told them.

“He’s our son Smith, how would you feel if it was your son?”

“Okay but you have to promise me that you’ll let me handle this. You do nothing but keep your mouth shut; do you hear me?”

They agreed to let him handle the investigation, promising only to observe. They wanted to make sure that Janice was aware of everything that had happened.

“Mrs. Haines, I’m Officer Smith, I spoke with you on the phone concerning Nick Dasher. This is Carmen Haines and Dexter Crane, Zachary’s parents; you don’t mind if they’re present do you?”

“I don’t mind, have a seat.” Janice said.

“I’m sorry for your loss Mrs. Avery. Do you recall an ex-boyfriend of Carol’s by the name of Nick Dasher?”

“I remember him; he’s a low-life piece of crap, no good for nothing. I tried to warn Carol but she seemed to get a thrill from his bad boy ways.”

“Did she ever mention where he was from or what he did for a living?”

“I think I remember her saying he was from California; maybe Sacramento. Seems his parents’ names are Beth and Jackson, best I remember. As far as his occupation, he didn’t have one. The only thing he did was run up gambling debts and did whatever he had to in order to pay them. I was happy when Carol finally dumped him. I didn’t know she was still in contact with him.” Janice said.

“She only recently made contact with him again, from my understanding. He was involved in Ada Crane’s murder and Dexter’s kidnapping. It’s imperative that we find him for Zachary’s sake; he’s not safe with him. He’s only a few weeks old and Nick hasn’t a clue how to care for him.” Officer Smith pointed out.

“I wish I could do more to help you but honestly I didn’t have much to do with Nick. Carol knew how I felt about him so she didn’t tell me much. She was very secretive about their relationship.”

“If you think of anything else would you please give me a call, ma’am?”

“Sure, I’ll be glad to help in any way that I can.”

Officer Smith handed her his card and shook her hand. As they turned to go out the door, Janice stopped them.

“Dexter, I want you to know how very

sorry I am for the pain my daughter has caused you and your family. I didn’t raise her to be the kind of person she turned out to be. If there was a way I could take it back, I would gladly. I hope you can forgive me, I’m truly sorry from the bottom of my heart. I hope you find your son safe and well.” Janice said apologetically.

“Mrs. Avery you have nothing to be sorry for, none of this is your fault, please don’t feel like I’m blaming you for anything because honestly I’m not. We all must find a way to get passed this but please don’t get marred down in guilt that isn’t yours. I don’t blame you for any of this, please don’t blame yourself.”

“Thank you, Dexter, I’ll be praying for you and your entire family; especially for the safe return of your precious son.”

She hugged him in appreciation for his kindness. Deep down, Janice knew that Carol was the guilty one in this entire thing but couldn’t help but feel ashamed of what she’d done.

“Where do we go from here?” Dexter asked.

“The first thing is to contact Sacramento for information on Beth and Jackson Dasher. Hopefully Nick’s made contact with them recently. Keep your fingers crossed.” Officer Smith said.

After promising to keep them informed, Officer Smith took Dexter and Carmen back to her parent’s house. Eva and Dave were waiting for them, they were very happy to see Dexter alive and well.  Eva hugged him.

“I’m so glad you’re okay, Dexter. I wasn’t sure we would ever see you again. I’m so sorry for letting Nick take Zachary. I shouldn’t have let him out of my sight. It’s my fault he’s missing.” Eva Cried.

“No, Eva, it’s not your fault, you didn’t know what he had planned. How could you? He gained your trust; you thought he was a friend. He’ll pay for this don’t you worry. I’ll make him wished he’d never been born.” Dexter consoled.

“It’s  been  a long,  tiresome  day; we’re

going to turn in. I’ll see you in the morning. I love you guys.” Carmen said hugging her parents goodnight.

At last they were alone for the first time since Dexter’s disappearance. They were overly joyed to be reunited. They had lost hope of it ever happening but here they were.

“Promise me that you’ll never leave me again. I was going crazy without you. You and Zachary are my everything. We have to find him and bring him home.” Carmen cried.

He embraced her tightly.

“Don’t worry Carmen, we’ll find him. I’m so sorry you’ve been through so much. If only I hadn’t been so stupid, we wouldn’t be in this situation. Please forgive me Carmen. I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make this up to you. I love you.”

“I’ve already forgiven you Dexter. Carol’s in our past, I know how much you love me. We all make mistakes and there’s nothing we can do to change them, only learn from them so stop beating yourself up. We have to move forward and the only way we can do that is if we stop looking behind us.”

A strange sound outside the window woke Carmen. She got up to check it out; it was Nick Dasher making an attempt to break in.

“Where’s Zachary? What have you done with him? Where’s my son?” Carmen screamed.

“Don’t worry about him, he’s okay for now but if you keep talking to the police he won’t be.”

She frantically ran to wake Dexter, he wouldn’t budge; he was sound asleep.

“Dexter, wake up! Nick’s at the window, he’s trying to get in, you have to stop him.” She screamed hysterically as she tried to shake him awake but he continued to sleep. Her cries for help were in vain.